First things first, I’m not 100 percent certain we’ve agreed on a term for this particular skill. Is it a piece of back heel control? A rabona touch? An inverse rabona? A Nasty Neymar? From henceforth, it should be known as the Ballad of Ahmadzadeh Farshad.
After playing 56 games last season, Liverpool FC basically said to hell with it and just kept playing. The Reds began their 2018-19 fixture list back on July 7 as part of a nine-game preseason tour that includes a trip to Ireland and the United States. This is how Jurgen Klopp ensures that the gegenpressing is still pressing come the 90th minute of matches in May.
Throughout the entirety of the France vs Belgium semifinal, you could do nothing but watch and wonder when Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappe got on the ball. How is it possible that these two are this good? The pair's simply unplayable when on form, and both have clearly been at their best in Russia.
In the first half, Hazard went off on a terrorizing run after doing in Benjamin Pavard. His flurry of feet to then ruin Pavard again and drift inside Paul Pogba was poetry in motion.
Neymar had a rough start to the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Against Switzerland he was pounded with repeated fouls in an eventual disappointing draw. Against Costa Rica, the Concacaf side frustrated Neymar and his teammates for 90 minutes, Brazil’s star man even attempting an ill-fated flop or two. In the end, thanks in part to Philippe Coutinho, Brazil prevailed and we got to see some sweet Neymar skills in the final minutes.
Gerard Pique was a man of peace and love to start Spain’s match against Iran on Wednesday. He gently helped a little birdie off the pitch before the opening whistle. By the end of the match, Vahid Amiri’s Pique nutmeg left the Spanish defender shaking his head, just happy La Furia Roja escaped with a 1-0 victory over Team Melli.
If every country has it’s own lesser version of Lionel Messi (“The Alpine Messi”, “The Egyptian Messi”, etc.) then Russia’s is certainly Denis Cheryshev. The 27-year-old has spent his entire career in Spain (including coming through at Real Madrid and making two appearances for the club before joining Villarreal in 2016), and he demonstrated his talents Thursday after coming on as a 24th minute substitute for the injured Alan Dzagoev.
19 minutes after coming on, Cheryshev doubled Russia’s advantage with a sweet strike in the 43rd minute.
What a weekend of goals we had! Lost in all the hullabaloo surrounding Gareth Bale’s remarkable bicycle kick and Loris Karius’ equally brilliant goofs, Major League Soccer threw up an insane solo effort from the Portland Timbers’ Samuel Armenteros.