England has five teams in the Champions League for the first time and amazingly all of them are still unbeaten through three matches in group play. Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham all lead their groups with a combined 11 wins, four draws and no losses.
Toronto FC might just be completing the best regular season in MLS history. While that may not matter much once the playoffs start at the end of October, it’s worth noting the records within reach of Toronto FC with two matches to play.
The Reds host the Montreal Impact on Sunday and finish the season with a trip to Atlanta United’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium. While the Supporters' Shield has been wrapped up, here’s what is on the line for Toronto FC.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski is now Poland's all-time leading scorer after nailing two free kicks in the first half of a World Cup qualifier against Armenia Thursday, plus a tap-in in the second half. Lewandowski's hat trick gives him 50 international goals, including 15 in the current World Cup qualifying campaign.
First, Lewandowski lined up a superb free-kick to put Poland up 2-0.
¡GOLAZO!
The list for the players with the most official appearances in the history of soccer stretches from players who played in the 1940s to the present day. Goalkeepers like Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon have both entered the top 20, but there are still many players ahead of the two active legends.
According to Footballdatabase.eu, English goalkeeper Peter Shilton has accumulated the most official appearances with 1,390.
Manchester City's offense is on fire. In their last three Premier League matches, City beat Liverpool 5-0, Watford 6-0 and Crystal Palace 5-0. They've scored 21 goals in six league matches, good for 3.5 per match. The current EPL goal record is 103, held by the 2009-2010 Chelsea squad. Manchester City are on pace for 133 goals this season.
Gareth Bale has done it again. Perhaps best known for his stunning sprint against Barcelona in the 2014 Copa del Rey Final (one that had Usain Bolt saying: “It’s a goal any sprinter in the world would like to score one day. He’s the fastest footballer in the world at the moment.”), Bale has scored another scorching effort for Real Madrid.
You know a dirty game when you see one. Players go flying into tackles, things get chippy and the referee absolutely loses control of the match. Two or three red cards in a match is enough to make people cringe, but how about 36?
No, that’s not a typo — 36 red cards. In one game.
After flirting with relegation last season, Deportivo La Coruna were not expected to prove a very significant challenge for Real Madrid as they opened their La Liga campaign on Sunday, and the Estadio Riazor in Galicia proved to be a comfortable site to begin their title defense for Los Blancos.
There's perhaps no other refereeing decision, in any sport, that causes the deep emotional reaction of the awarding of a penalty kick. When the call is made for a spot kick from 12 yards out, the response is typically either a flurry of expletives and impending sense of doom or the feeling of utter joy derived from receiving a blessing, depending on which side of the call you are.
And it seems these feelings are warranted — stats show that there’s a 75-80% chance of the penalty being converted.