Upsets

One unwritten rule of soccer that doesn’t really exist in other sports is the art of players not celebrating if they score a goal against a team they formerly played on.

Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood took that unwritten rule to heart on Boxing Day when netted a hat trick against his former club, Newcastle. 

The New Zealand forward was the hero in Forest’s massive 3-1 victory but hardly celebrated as he followed the unwritten rule of not celebrating after scoring against a former team.

Chris Wood not celebrating vs. Newcastle

BARCELONA — High-flying Girona reclaimed top spot in LaLiga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2 away on Sunday, condemning Xavi Hernandez's side to their second league defeat of the season.

Artem Dovbyk and Miguel Gutierrez both scored for Girona in the first half, either side of Robert Lewandowski's equalizer, before Girona's Valery Fernandez and Cristhian Stuani added two more goals after the break with Ilkay Gundogan netting another for Barca.

MANCHESTER — Miserable Manchester United were humiliated 3-0 at home by Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday as the pressure ratcheted up once again on manager Erik ten Hag.

A midweek victory over Chelsea had offered cause for optimism but in-form Bournemouth exposed just how far Ten Hag's United have fallen behind this season.

The Dutchman looked forlorn as he watched on in the teaming Old Trafford rain as his shambolic side were comprehensively outplayed and fortunate not to lose by more.

Pelé's former club Santos were relegated for the first time in their 111-year history on Wednesday following a 2-1 home loss to Fortaleza in the final round of Brazil's Serie A.

The costal city team were one of three clubs, along with Sao Paulo and Flamengo, never to have been relegated from Brazil's top flight but a woeful run of five games without a victory saw them drop to 17th in the standings with 43 points.

America Mineiro, Coritiba and Goias had already been assured of relegation from the 20-team division.

It’s no secret that Sweden have been the biggest thorn in the side of the United States women’s national team in recent history. The Swedes knocked the USWNT out of the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the 2016 Olympics and thrashed the Americans 3-0 in the group stage of the 2020 Olympics.

Sweden are the USWNT’s kryptonite. They won’t be able to hurt the USWNT in Paris next summer though because they failed to qualify due to a 1-0 loss to Switzerland on Friday.

Sweden fail to qualify for Olympics

The U.S. men's national team earned a spot in the 2024 Copa America despite a 2-1 loss to Trinidad & Tobago in Leg 2 of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal on Monday in Port of Spain, Trinidad.

The U.S. won the aggregate series 4-2 after a 3-0 win in Austin, Texas, on Thursday. As a result, the Americans also advanced to the semifinals of the Nations League in March, a tournament in which the U.S. is two-time defending champion.

Inter Miami played an organized friendly vs. New York City FC on Friday to celebrate Lionel Messi’s eighth Ballon d’Or. The game was dubbed the “Noche d’Or” but ended as a night of horror as NYCFC spoiled the night with a 2-1 win.

The festivities at DRV PNK Stadium started upbeat with Messi presenting his legendary eighth Ballon d’Or award to the fans.

Leo Messi presents the Ballon d'Or in front of Inter Miami's fans pic.twitter.com/NYM2aunk92

WOLVERHAMPTON — Wolverhampton Wanderers stunned Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 with stoppage-time goals from Pablo Sarabia and Mario Lemina on Saturday, thwarting the visitors in their bid to reclaim top spot in the Premier League table.

Gary O'Neil's decision to bring on Sarabia as a late substitute paid off handsomely as the Spaniard scored the equalizer in the 91st minute and provided the pass for the 97th-minute winner.

The result left Spurs second in the standings behind Manchester City, while Wolves climbed to 12th ahead of the weekend's other fixtures.