Highlights

It’s been an excellent 24 hours for Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations.

Alexander Sørloth looked a man bereft of confidence. Just 12 months after arriving in South London in a $11.75 million deal from Denmark's FC Midtjylland, the Norwegian striker was yet to score a Premier League goal for Crystal Palace in 16 appearances. In all but four of those outings, he had come off the bench. 

Fresh off helping the USWNT book its ticket for Tokyo 2020 by scoring six goals at the CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship, Lindsey Horan was back in her home state of Colorado on Wednesday night to watch the Denver Nuggets host the Los Angeles Lakers at the Pepsi Center.

You don’t need a reminder of Horan’s remarkable skill on the ball, but here’s a reminder — the goal she scored against Canada in the final was poetry in motion.  

It’s a confirmation of what everyone has come to understand over the past decade, but Miguel Delaney’s article in The Independent on Wednesday — entitled “How football became broken beyond repair” — is a sobering bit of realism that effectively illustrates how stale, predictable, undemocratic and hyper-capitalist the modern game has become.

The USWNT has triumphed at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship following a 3-0 victory over Canada in the final on Sunday. After a scoreless first half, Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe all got on the scoresheet to accentuate a perfect campaign for Tokyo 2020.  

After watching Real Madrid defeat Osasuna earlier in the day, Barcelona knew it needed to escape the Benito Villamarín Stadium in Seville with a win to stay within three points of Real at the top of LaLiga. But it’s never easy against Real Betis, and Barcelona’s own fragility away from home was clear for all to see last Thursday when they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey in Bilbao. 

After Juventus’ shock 2-1 defeat to Verona on Saturday, Inter had the glorious chance of returning to the top of the Serie A table with a win on Sunday. But standing in the Nerazzurri’s way was rival AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.

Although Milan entered the match in 11th place, the club had been rejuvenated by the January arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimović. With Ibrahimović, Milan had gone undefeated in league play (three wins, two draws) and advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia. 

The year is 2020. A top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash between Bayern Munich and Leipzig is being dictated by a fascinating duel between a 19-year-old Canadian and a 20-year-old American. Bayern Munich doesn’t win. 

How ‘bout that for a bit of science fiction?! But that’s actually what happened on Sunday during the sort of match that proves a 0-0 scoreline can still be a damn good time. 

Real Madrid opened up a six-point lead at the top of LaLiga ahead of Barcelona’s late match on Sunday following a 4-1 away victory over 12th-place Osasuna. It was Unai García who gave Osasuna an early lead before Isco and Sergio Ramos completed the turnaround for the Spanish leaders with Lucas Vázquez and Luka Jović adding late insurance goals.