A lot of the pregame hype for Juventus vs. Atlético Madrid surrounded the matchup between Portugal’s past-and-current king, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Portugal’s future king, João Félix.
But the match was decided by the matchup between Mexico’s Héctor Herrera and former Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey, two second-half substitutes.
Hirving Lozano scored on his debut with Napoli on Saturday, netting the second in an ill-fated three-goal comeback against reigning Serie A champion Juventus. It was a remarkable start to Lozano’s career in Italy, becoming the first Mexican to score in Serie A, even if it came in a heartbreaking, last-minute loss.
While Liverpool and Manchester City again look a cut above the rest in England, there’s every indication that a club outside the “Big Six” may yet disrupt the hegemony and finish in the Champions League places. This morning saw a clash between two such sides — Everton and Wolves — at Goodison Park.
It's been a while since MLS fans have heard the name Erick "Cubo" Torres. Once the lone bright spot for failing Chivas USA, a 20-year-old Cubo Torres scored 22 goals in 44 appearances for the now-defunct club. He was hailed as one of the young guns that was going to make a huge impact in MLS and eventually with the Mexico national team.
León striker José Juan Macías was the story of the 2019 Liga MX Clausura season after leading all Mexican goal scorers with eight in 14 appearances. That he accomplished it at the age of 19 while on loan after being cast off by Chivas only strengthened the narrative.
Barring a meeting in the 2019 MLS Playoffs — please let that happen — LAFC’s wait for a victory over El Tráfico rivals LA Galaxy will go into a third season. On Sunday night at Banc of California Stadium, the two clubs played to a frantic 3-3 draw after an early Zlatan Ibrahimović brace was answered by two from LAFC’s Latif Blessing. Cristian Pavón and Carlos Vela would also exchange goals.
LAFC moved one step closer to securing the top seed in the Western Conference — and the MLS Supporters’ Shield — following a 4-0 beatdown of rivals San Jose on Wednesday night at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles. Diego Rossi opened the scoring in the sixth minute, Carlos Vela registered a brace by the 41st and Joshua Pérez put the finishing touches on an emphatic victory.
Vela’s first arrived from the penalty spot in the 17th, but it’s his outrageous solo goal in the 41st-minute that could have a shout at the MLS Goal of the Year Award.
You don’t need me to tell you that global transfer fees are escalating faster than a grenade at a knife fight. There’s not a whole lot of sense to be made over the stratospheric numbers, except it must be nice to be a footballer’s agent. But who is the most expensive Mexican soccer player in today’s world of wheeling, dealing and making a killing in the oil field? Here are the 25 most expensive Mexican transfer fees ever.
Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is about to join Napoli from PSV Eindhoven for a reported fee of $47 million with his medical scheduled in the coming days, according to NBC Sports. Lozano will sign a five-year deal at the San Paolo and attempt to take his game to the next level under the guidance of manager Carlo Ancelotti and alongside a vaunted attacking unit containing Dries Mertens, Lorenzo Insigne and Arek Milik.
Last night in Lima, Peru, Honduras upset Mexico after a penalty shootout to advance to the final of the 2019 Pan American Games. It’s a largely meaningless U-22 competition with understrength youth teams, so the Mexican Football Federation won’t be overly bothered by the result, but manager Jaime Lozano will be irked that his side couldn’t hold on to a 1-0 lead with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Especially since that 1-0 lead was built on one of the finest goals of the summer.