Goals

Barcelona stayed within two points of Real Madrid and five of Atlético following a comforting 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Elche at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Lionel Messi was the star of the show with two goals before playing a large role in Jordi Alba’s third, and the Argentine is now LaLiga’s outright top scorer with 18 goals in 22 games. 

The first half saw nice bits of skill from Frenkie de Jong, Messi and Pedri, but Barcelona couldn’t find the opener with Francisco Trincão wasting the best opportunity of the opening 45.

The present and future of the Champions League combined to lead Bayern Munich over Lazio on Tuesday with Robert Lewandowski scoring his 72nd goal of the competition and 17-year-old Jamal Musiala scoring his first as Bayern prevailed 4-1 in Rome.

You can’t give the world champions anything if you want to last over the course of 180 minutes, but Lazio damned itself as early as the ninth minute after Mateo Musacchio’s suicidal back-pass allowed Lewandowski to collect possession, round Pepe Reina and finish into an empty net.

Cristiano Ronaldo, like every other footballer on the planet, is underrated when it comes to headers.

The sternest test of the USWNT’s 2021 SheBelieves Cup was ultimately passed on Sunday as Christen Press’ 11th-minute goal was enough to overcome Brazil before Megan Rapinoe’s late insurance strike at Exploria Stadium in Orlando.

Vlatko Andonovski made four changes to the side that labored to a 1-0 victory over Canada last Thursday, including Press for Rapinoe at left wing, Alex Morgan for Carli Lloyd at striker and match-winner Rose Lavelle for Catarina Macario in midfield. 

BERLIN - RB Leipzig eased past Hertha Berlin 3-0 on Sunday to cut the gap with leaders Bayern Munich to two points with their fourth consecutive Bundesliga victory.

Marcel Sabitzer put the visitors in front in the 28th minute with a ferocious shot from 33 yards that went straight into the top corner with Hertha goalkeeper Rune Jarstein frozen to the spot on a sunny afternoon in the capital.

In case you missed this Marcel Sabitzer wonder goal

LONDON - West Ham United claimed fourth spot in the Premier League as goals early in each half by Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard earned them a nervy 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Their seventh win in their last nine league games moved West Ham two points above Chelsea in their mounting challenge for a Champions League spot while Tottenham have slumped to ninth.

BUDAPEST - Gareth Bale scored one goal and created another as Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a 4-1 win in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash with Austrian side Wolfsberg on Thursday.

The Welshman, whose starts have mainly been limited to the Europa League since returning to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid in October, set up Son Heung-min for his side's opener.

With 18 goals in his first 13 Champions League appearances, Erling Haaland is on pace to overtake Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time scoring record sometime next month. The 20-year-old Norwegian scored two and assisted one — all in the first half — of Borussia Dortmund’s electric 3-2 victory over Sevilla in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie on Wednesday.  

Liverpool secured a vital 2-0 away victory in Budapest against RB Leipzig on Tuesday in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 clash. The Reds’ goals came courtesy of two absolutely horrendous Leipzig errors that could spell the end of the Bundesliga side’s time in the Champions League.

The two bizarre mistakes fit the theme of an unusual night. Due to fears of the UK Covid-19 strain Leipzig was forced to play its “home” leg in a country in which the club has never played.