Goals

I know, it’s hard being a goalkeeper. They’re rarely praised for making game-changing saves and heavily criticized for any blunders they make. But Rune Jarstein’s effort on the Julian Brandt goal vs Hertha Berlin on Saturday left a lot to be desired. 

Borussia Dortmund beat Hertha 2-0 thanks to Brandt’s long-range goal. It was a vital win for Borussia Dortmund, which has fallen out of the Champions League places in the Bundesliga and sits fifth but will likely end the weekend back in sixth. 

Despite controlling 73 percent possession and attempting 21 shots compared to just seven for PSG, Barcelona could only manage one goal at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday — which was canceled out by a controversial Kylian Mbappé penalty in a 1-1 draw — to crash out of the Champions League at the Round of 16 stage, 5-2 on aggregate. 

Harry Kane scored two and assisted two, Gareth Bale got a brace of his own and Son Heung-min provided one assist as Tottenham’s in-form front three fueled a 4-1 hammering of Crystal Palace on Sunday. 

It was a complete performance from Spurs, who opened the scoring in the 25th minute after Lucas Moura poked it off Luka Milivojević and into the path of Kane. The English striker advanced towards goal before squaring to Bale for the tap-in. 

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester City's 21-match winning streak was ended by rivals Manchester United as Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side enjoyed a 2-0 Premier League derby victory at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

United won thanks to an early penalty from Bruno Fernandes and a second-half strike from Luke Shaw with the result narrowing City's lead at the top of the table to 11 points over United with 10 games remaining. It was City's first defeat in all competitions since Nov. 21.

When Fulhamerica beats Liverpool at Anfield, you know that foreshadows a historic day for USMNT players in Europe. While Antonee Robinson got off the bench in that one (although Tim Ream didn’t), Sunday saw goals from a remarkable number of U.S. footballers abroad, including Josh Sargent, Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Boyd and Konrad de la Fuente.

We’ll start with Sarg in the Bundesliga. The 21-year-old striker scored Werder Bremen’s lone goal in a 1-1 draw with FC Köln. Sargent’s header was his second goal in as many games, giving him four in 22 appearances this season.  

Up until the 88th minute, it looked as though Luis Suárez’s elegant opening goal in the 15th minute would decide Sunday’s massive Madrid derby. Atlético had established its LaLiga title credentials by playing some mesmerizing football in the first half, but Real Madrid made Diego Simeone’s side revert to its defensive-minded approach in the second before Karim Benzema captured a dramatic equalizer at the Wanda Metropolitano with minutes remaining.

It’s easy, as soccer fans, to always focus on the amazing goals or the incredible last-ditch saves. But sometimes it’s a pass that stands out. On Saturday, this Lionel Messi assist vs Osasuna ripped apart the defense and was better than any goal scored in some time. 

Messi’s magical left foot can do it all. Usually we watch it ripping a gorgeous curler or dancing around defenders. So today let’s appreciate the Argentine’s marvelous passing ability as Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-0 on Saturday. 

Daryl Dike is not long for the Championship. In this form, he’ll either guide his new club to promotion or be bought up by a Premier League club by the summer.

Ousmane Dembélé is perennially late. 

You can easily imagine him throwing open the door of his Mercedes S63 AMG coupé, crushed Mountain Dew Game Fuel cans spilling out with him, and sprinting into Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper at a breakneck speed muttering "Oh dear! Oh dear! I shall be too late!" because this really happens all the time — to the point where the club fined him hundreds of thousands of dollars and wondered aloud if he had a video game disorder that forced him to stay up all night playing with his friends (others call this disorder “having fun.”)