On Tuesday night, Liverpool saw off Benfica 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. It was fairly routine for the Reds, who could have scored more but also could’ve conceded a couple. Regardless of the final result, Liverpool was a bit lucky the Mo Salah tackle on Danilo Pereira did not draw severe punishment.
Few players in the history of the sport have impacted women’s soccer as much as Mia Hamm. The feared striker retired as the all-time leader in international goals with 158 (later passed by former teammate Abby Wambach) and still holds the record for most USWNT assists with 145, a mark that may never be equaled.
Heading into the season, there were legitimate questions over how Toronto FC would rectify its disaster of a 2018 MLS season. Sebastian Giovinco was shipped off to Saudi Arabia and Gregory van der Wiel was let go after a year by “mutual consent” from both parties, which is rarely a sign of good things behind the scenes.
Although England’s performance against the Czech Republic was thrilling and Scotland’s humiliation to Kazakhstan was funny, there’s not a lot to get excited about in Euro 2020 qualifying as nearly half of the competing nations will ultimately earn a place at the 16th European Championship.
You gotta feel bad for Cagliari regista Luca Cigarini.
During a Serie A match against Fiorentina on Friday, Cigarini scored what could have been the best goal of his career, launching a free kick from his own half into the back of the net.
But the goal didn’t count.
No, it wasn’t the result of VAR or suspicious refereeing (well, maybe a little of the latter). Instead, it was a case of a direct vs indirect free kick scenario.
Brazilian striker Anderson Lopes played his first match for Consadole Sapporo in the J1 League on Friday, and the attacker came away with four goals and an important lesson in the layout of his club’s home ground, the Sapporo Dome.
With Consadole leading Shimizu S-Pulse 2-1 in the 49th minute, Anderson Lopes scored his second of the match and promptly went to celebrate with supporters behind the goal. Unfortunately, his jump over the advertising hoardings was quickly met with the realization that he faced a 10-foot drop to the hard ground below.
There are some things that are inexcusable on the pitch, like throwing a punch, spitting on an opponent or stomping on a player. Then there are those that are unimaginable, like what happened during the Amed SK vs Sakaryaspor match on Saturday.
Amed SK vs Sakaryaspor is one of the bigger rivalries in Turkey’s third division, but there’s no excuse for what it appears Mansur Calar did on Saturday before the two teams played to a 1-1 draw.
Last night, León (The Club That Landon Built) defeated Pumas 3-1 in a match that was played 10-on-10 for 20 minutes. José Juan Macías, Ángel Mena and Vinicio Angulo were among the goals for León, who stayed within touching distance of Tigres and Monterrey at the top of the Clausura table.
Last we heard from Barcelona’s Arda Turan in January, he was facing 12 years in prison for sexual harassment, assault, shooting a firearm in public and carrying a weapon without a license all stemming from an incident last year.
This came on the heels of a 16-match ban last May for shoving a referee while on loan with İstanbul Başakşehir.
Valentine’s Day is a time for Hallmark to sell cards, Russell Stover to sell chocolates and your local florist to sell flowers. It’s a time for partners to celebrate their love and single people to dwell on their wretched singleness. It’s not a time for this idiot playing FIFA.
To all the FIFA players with significant others out there this Valentine’s Day, please do not treat your partner like this idiot playing FIFA.