The Premier League’s billing as the world’s best division is a contentious one. While there’s no doubting its supreme viewership numbers around the globe, the quality on the pitch is occasionally more helter skelter than fine flowing.
At its best, its a blood and thunder experience with two sides going after it hammer and tongs. At its worse, its a series of hit and hope long balls with zero sense of midfield control.
Jamie Vardy converted two penalties to help Leicester City get off to a winning start in the Premier League season with a 3-0 victory at promoted West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Vardy, the league's top scorer last season, and Dennis Praet both had drilled efforts well saved by West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in bright sunshine at the Hawthorns, with the hosts offering little in attack in the first half.
Ahead of opening its Serie A campaign next weekend, Juventus played a friendly against third division side Novara at the club’s training center on Sunday morning. As the first friendly of preseason, the match served as a debut for 22-year-old American Weston McKennie following his year-long loan to the club from Schalke.
In a matchup of the last two NWSL clubs to lift a trophy, the N.C. Courage once again showed they’re the best in the league. The 2019 NWSL champions rallied late to beat the Challenge Cup winners 4-3 in a match that actually upstaged the Liverpool-Leeds game as the most entertaining 90 minutes of action on Saturday.
Houston led 2-1 at halftime thanks to a pair of assists from Challenge Cup final MVP Shea Groom, but Debinha took over the second half with two incredible goals.
Leeds United returned to the Premier League after a wild 16-year journey into the depths of the English league system with a match at Anfield, home of reigning Premier League champion Liverpool. The remarkable occasion for both clubs — the Reds hadn’t won a league title in 30 years — was played without fans, but the action on the pitch more than made up for the lack of atmosphere.
Raúl Ruidíaz and Joevin Jones each had two goals and two assists and the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders scored four times in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 7-1 victory against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday night.
Jordan Morris had a goal and three assists, and Kelvin Leerdam and João Paulo also scored for the Sounders (5-2-3, 18 points), who moved into first place in the Western Conference. Seattle extended its unbeaten streak against San Jose to 11 consecutive regular-season matches (6-0-5) dating to 2015.
Aided by fixture congestion, muscle injuries and domestic cup competitions turned into academy exercises, the 2020-21 season figures to be the year of the 15-year-old.
On the one hand you’ve got Borussia Dortmund phenom Youssoufa Moukoko — although he won’t be able to play in the Bundesliga until turning 16 on Nov. 20 — and on the other you’ve got Grimsby Town’s Louis Boyd.
It’s been 157 years since the Rules of Association Football were codified at a tavern in London, but the game still remains full of innovation and progressive thinking. Some paradigm shifts are gradual, like the tactical change from an all out 1-1-8 formation to a stubborn 4-5-1, while others metaphorically approach, punch you in the teeth and depart as quickly as they’d arrived.
These are the best sorts of revolutions: the ones that nobody asked for.
After missing Portugal’s 4-1 victory over Croatia on Saturday due to a toe infection caused from a bee sting, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting 11 on Tuesday against Sweden and showed off his newly acquired flying insect superpowers.
Sitting on 99 international goals, Ronaldo buzzed over a free kick in the 45th-minute before unleashing a venomous, right-footed stinger into the top corner.
After beginning the season 0-2-3, the Los Angeles Galaxy have turned it on and scorched everyone in their path with four consecutive victories, the latest victim being LAFC.
Two weeks after the Galaxy blanked LAFC 2-0 for the first cleansheet effort for either side in El Tráfico history, goalkeeper David Bingham registered another shutout on Sunday, his second of the season.
After a scoreless first half, Galaxy forward Cristian Pavón chipped an easy one over LAFC keeper Pablo Sisniega, who got stuck over-extending himself in the 51st minute.