Upsets

It’s a situation we’ve all seen countless times: The visiting team, playing the role of underdog, takes an early lead in front of a charged crowd and spends the remainder of the match attempting to disrupt the rhythm of the game to secure the three points; the end justifies the means, no matter how it’s achieved.

But you’ve never seen it play out quite like last night’s MLS meeting between Minnesota United and Real Salt Lake at Allianz Field in Saint Paul. 

When Wycombe earned promotion to the Championship for the first time in 2020, the Chairboys became instant favorites for relegation.

This was a side that finished 17th in League One in 2018/19 and was predicted to be near the bottom end of the table once again in 19/20. Manager Gareth Ainsworth's side finished eighth in a COVID-shortened season and only earned a playoff spot due to the points per game formula applied by the league.

History was made in France on Tuesday, as for just the fourth time in Coupe de France history, a team from the Championnat National 2 — the fourth tier in French football — has reached the semifinals of France's premier cup competition.

Patrick Mullins and Justin Morrow scored in the second half and Toronto FC defeated Mexican club León 2-1 on Wednesday near Orlando, Fla., to advance to the second round of the CONCACAF Champions League 3-2 on aggregate.

Mullins struck first in the 55th minute when teammate Jacob Shaffelburg fed him a low cross into the box and he delivered it into the bottom right corner of the goal.

⚽️ Goal @TorontoFC !

After a pulsating, nerve-wracking, Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting defined Champions League quarterfinal second leg between PSG and Bayern Munich, it’s the French side that saunters on in the competition by virtue of away goals since Bayern’s 1-0 victory at the Parc des Princes left the aggregate scoreline at 3-3 on Tuesday. 

It’s really, really not supposed to happen now. 

It feels next to impossible at this point, although one look at the LaLiga table shows that Atlético Madrid, by virtue of a single point, still controls its own destiny in the title race with eight matches remaining following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Real Betis.

But the narrative has changed. Rather than the feel-good tale of a team tinkering with new methods of expression, this is now a horror story — and like all good depictions of the macabre, you cannot look away.   

After stumbling into the international break on the back of Champions League elimination and a nine-game league run that had yielded only four wins, four draws and one defeat, all eyes were on LaLiga leader Atlético Madrid on Sunday as the club navigated a difficult away trip to fourth-place Sevilla.