Leg 2 of the Europa League's last 32 teams happened today, and while there were some great goals and stories, Hakan Calhanoglu's goal for Bayern Leverkusen stood out during the day. His volley in the 87th minute was the nail in the coffin for Sporting Lisbon. With the 3 - 1 victory, Leverkusen advance on aggregate to the Round of 16 in Europa League.
While many turn their focus to UEFA Champions League, top clubs in the US and Central America are facing off in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. The Seattle Sounders faced Mexican side, Club América and played to a 2 - 2 draw. Clint Dempsey got the scoring started with a curling freekick in the 43rd minute. The 1 - 0 lead wouldn't last long as Club América came back with a goal of their own before the half in the 45th minute. Dempsey would score again to retake the lead, but it evaporated on a 70th minute goal from Oribe Peralta.
John Goossens is just like the rest of us. He dreams of someday being awarded a professional soccer contract, of being paid to play the game he loves regardless of where that may be. Sure, Goossens is a product of the renowned Ajax Youth Academy, made 30 appearances for the Eredivisie’s Feyenoord and scored for the Netherlands U-21 team, but, deep down, he’s a dreamer just like the rest of us.
Diego Forlan scored a perfect hat trick this weekend for Penarol, reminding everyone of how brilliant of player he was (and still is apparently). He scored a goal with his right foot, his left foot, one brilliant one with his head and added two assists in a 5-1 demolition of Defensor Sporting in the Uruguayan Primera Division. Check it out (Especially the last one. Header of the year for sure).
USL side FC Cincinnati hasn't even played a proper competitive match yet, but that hasn't stopped them from scoring an absolute worldie. In a friendly match against Icelandic side KR Reykjavik, a long ball was cleared only as far as Corben Bone (yes, that is his real name), who took it on the volley first time. The end result? Let's just say that Reykjavik were totally boned. Sorry, that was bad.
14 touches; two goals; three assists. Talk about clinical. Valencia smashed Rapid Wien six-nil in the Europa League, and to say that youngster Santi Mina was on fire is akin to saying that Donald Trump is a little offputting.
35 years old is a heck of an age for a professional footballer to be. It’s old, in the world of football at least, but at the same time it’s really not. No one in their right minds would look at a 35-year-old and say they are past it outside of the world of sports. It’s a cut throat young man’s game, always has been, always will be. That’s why when 35 year-old Aritz Aduriz’s best goals of 2016 look like this, it’s a big deal.
First was this bicycle kick against Eibar back in January.
Just a couple of weeks ago, Ronaldo and Real Madrid were having a really, really bad time. Under Rafa Benitez, they seemed to have lost every single game that mattered and, as unfair as the perception might have been, it led to Benitez getting sacked. Real Madrid appointed the unproven Zinedine Zidane as manager, and few people felt confident that he could lead Madrid to the treble. But, don’t look away now. Real Madrid just won a game that really matters, against a team that’s really good, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a throwback goal in the process.
The announcer's call was as amazing as the volley goal. Aritz Aduriz of Athletic Club Bilbao scored a stunning volley against Olympique de Marseille in Europa League. Aduriz absolutely blasted the volley from 35 yards out. His 53rd minute goal was the game winner for Bilbao.
The second league for this match up is on February 24th as Marseille travel to Spain.
Did we just see the Puskás Award goal scored? It is only February, but this goal will surely be a finalist come 2017 when the awards are handed out. Faiz Subri of Penang FA knuckle balled a free kick from 35 yards out and it truly defied physics. See for yourself.