No one can argue that 2020 has been an awful year that we all want to put behind us. But before we look ahead 2021, we have to take a minute to appreciate how sports have provided something resembling normality in recent months.
Considering the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been incredibly lucky to have soccer leagues playing regularly since June.
Barcelona will face Paris Saint-Germain and former striker Neymar while title holders Bayern Munich are up against Italy's Lazio in the last 16 of the Champions League after UEFA's draw was held on Monday.
The clash of Lionel Messi and Barça with last year's runners-up PSG is a repeat of their remarkable meeting at the same stage in 2017 when Barça overcame a 4-0 first leg loss to beat the French club 6-1 in Spain with Neymar scoring twice for the Catalans.
On Wednesday, Jan Oblak’s mere presence seemed to terrify RB Salzburg players who even thought about taking a shot on goal. The Slovenian keeper recorded a clean sheet as Atlético Madrid won to ensure a place in the Champions League knockout rounds. On Saturday, a Jan Oblak own goal vs Real Madrid showed even the best keepers in the world get unlucky sometimes.
It’s days like this when you see Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema laugh in the face of Champions League elimination that you truly appreciate how incredible this side was between 2013 and 2018.
As things stand, Real Madrid is out of the Champions League. Shakhtar Donetsk, for the second time, has defeated Real, this time by a scoreline of 2-0 at the Olimpiyskiy.
Although now level on seven points in Group B, Shakhtar holds the head-to-head tiebreaker. Borussia Mönchengladbach could win the group later Tuesday by defeating Inter at Borussia-Park, an outcome that Real would probably accept at this point since Los Blancos could then host a disinterested Gladbach side on the final matchday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane defended forward Eden Hazard's mental fortitude after the forward picked up another injury, ruling him out of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk.
Belgium national team doctor Kris van Crombrugge had suggested Hazard's injury issues since joining Real were down to mental stress, however Zidane refuted those claims.
Severely depleted Real Madrid conceded a fourth penalty in two games as it drew 1-1 at Villarreal in LaLiga on Saturday, dropping points for the second game in a row.
Zinedine Zidane's side was missing seven players through injury and illness, including the indispensable trio of Sergio Ramos, Karim Benzema and Casemiro, but the champions went ahead in the second minute with a diving header from Mariano Diaz.
Real Madrid are set to be without captain Sergio Ramos for their Champions League trip to Inter Milan after they confirmed on Thursday that he suffered a hamstring injury on international duty with Spain.
Ramos was substituted in the first half of the team's 6-0 thrashing of Germany on Tuesday.
"After undergoing tests under the supervision of Real Madrid's medical team, Sergio Ramos has picked up a hamstring problem," Real said in a statement.
The Ronaldinho standing ovation from Real Madrid fans in 2005 is sometimes considered one of the greatest moments in the sport’s history. On Nov. 19, 2005, the Brazilian star put on a Clásico performance so enthralling that it still raises goosebumps 15 years later.
Entering Matchday 12, Barcelona sat second in the league table with Real Madrid trailing one point behind. Osasuna was enjoying a short spell on top of LaLiga.
My favorite Thibaut Courtois moments are when he looks like Frankenstein’s monster, letting out a world-weary scream while the football rolls through his way-too-long-legs.
“Why would my creator make me like this?! All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things!” Courtois can frequently be heard saying.