Rivalries

With El Clásico, Reds-Red Devils, the Derby d'Italia and Le Classique all falling on Sunday, American viewers were presented with a smörgåsbord of hatred and fury from across Europe. 

Marseille’s standing as an epicenter of football culture and fandom has long been under-appreciated by the English-speaking world, but there’s no denying that — for better or worse — the Vélodrome had the best atmosphere of all the aforementioned games.  

MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labelled Sunday's 5-0 hammering at home to Liverpool the "darkest day" he has had as manager of the club but said he had no intention of quitting his role.

United were 4-0 down at halftime after woeful defending against the deadly Liverpool attack, led by hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah.

Real Madrid piled the pressure on Barcelona with a 2-1 LaLiga victory at Camp Nou on Sunday that was highlighted by David Alaba’s masterclass in turning defense into attack in the 32nd minute. 

Historically speaking, it’s a really damning loss for Barcelona. That’s four straight wins for Real in this fixture, a run of fortune that Los Blancos haven’t experienced since 1965. It’s also only the second time ever that Real has won back-to-back games at Camp Nou. 

It’s El Clasico 2021 time! After years spent in the clutches of beIN SPORTS, the world’s greatest rivalry finally gets the grand American audience it deserves over on ESPN. Unfortunately, El Clasico will be behind the paywall of ESPN+, but that was always going to be the case after the network dropped $1.4 billion on an eight-year deal for LaLiga broadcast rights.

They need to recoup that money, beginning Sunday with $6.99 from you (there’s no free trial but you can cancel at anytime). 

BERLIN - Bayer Leverkusen are enjoying a three-game winning run in the Bundesliga and could not have hoped for a better time to meet champions Bayern Munich in Sunday's top-of-the-table clash.

Leverkusen have been superb this season, showing consistency and playing an exciting, attacking brand of football under their new Swiss coach Gerardo Seoane as they prepare to host a Bayern side who lead the table only on goal difference.