Goals

Nothing ignites the kindling like Liverpool versus Milan — two clubs that’ve combined to appear in 20 Champions League finals and contested the greatest of them all — and Wednesday night’s group stage encounter at Anfield was a wildfire.    

The first half was a miniature reversal of the “Miracle of Istanbul.” Liverpool dominated the opening 40 minutes with wave after wave of pressure while Milan struggled to break through the press. The stat that best exemplified the one-way action was Liverpool earning 10 corners in the first half to Milan’s zero. 

FC Sheriff Tiraspol made headlines for being the first club from Moldova (Transnistria) to make the Champions League group stage. I don’t think anyone realized how much of a gold mine this team is until the club’s historic 2-0 home victory against Shakhtar Donetsk.

It was a tongue in cheek joke when Erling Haaland burst onto the Champions League scene during the 2019-20 season with 10 goals in eight games to extrapolate that scoring rate into the future. But when Haaland finished as the UCL’s top scorer in 2020-21 with those exact same numbers, the giggles turned to disbelief.

Well, Haaland’s third season in the Champions League began on Wednesday with Borussia Dortmund traveling to Istanbul to play Beşiktaş, and the 21-year-old scored what would eventually prove the match-winner just before halftime. 

Futsal’s importance to developing great footballers has never been a secret. 

Brazil is the standard-bearer of the hard court game that favors ball control, passing in tight spaces and creativity over any sort of physical advantage. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Neymar, Pelé and Philipe Coutinho all played extensively in their youth, and what they learned and practiced on the court translated beautifully onto the pitch.

Ronald Koeman might be right that Barcelona could still cobble together a league challenge, but Barça hasn’t been this far from competing for Europe’s ultimate club prize since it played in the Europa League (the same season a 16-year-old Cesc Fàbregas left La Masia for Arsenal). 

With Villarreal and Atalanta lying in wait, Manchester United travelled to Swiss Super League champion Young Boys knowing that three points was vital against the side 30 places beneath them in UEFA’s club coefficient. 

All eyes were on Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team after the manager again fielded the exciting quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba that’d decimated Newcastle on Saturday.

After going 35 Premier League games without a goal, Andros Townsend — reunited at last with Rafa Benítez at Everton — scored the sort of goal that only Andros Townsend can produce. It was a beautifully shaped 25-yard effort that was equal parts violence and precision, and the go-ahead strike in Everton’s 3-1 win over Burnley on Monday night. 

With 10 points from four games (good for fourth in the table) and Townsend already scoring one and creating two, Benítez is quickly winning over Goodison Park with his decision-making.

MADRID - Real Madrid's Karim Benzema netted a hat-trick as they capped their return to the refurbished Santiago Bernabéu stadium with a thrilling 5-2 comeback win over Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Sunday.

The Frenchman was unplayable at times as Madrid were reunited with their fans for the first time since March 1, 2020.

They played the whole of last season at reserve team Castilla's Alfredo Di Stéfano ground at their training complex.