After a long summer, Europe’s premier club competition is back and did not disappoint. From Lisbon to Amsterdam, some fantastic goals were scored in the opening week of the Champions League, so let's take a look at the top five.
FOX Sports announced its three-person team to anchor its nightly “FIFA World Cup Tonight” throughout the World Cup this November and December on Wednesday. One name caught soccer fans by surprise: a former NFL star whose only soccer exploits involved a failed trial with Sporting KC. The World Cup Tonight announcers are headlined by the wonderful polyglot Kate Abdo, former USMNT player Maurice Edu and — bizarrely — Chad Johnson, formerly known as Chad Ochocinco.
⭐️ALL OF THE LIGHTS ⭐️
Megan Rapinoe is no longer a starter for the USWNT. Mallory Pugh has made the left flank her own, and it was the 24-year-old Chicago Red Stars forward who forced the opener on Tuesday night against Nigeria at Audi Field with a low cross that resulted in an own goal from the Super Falcons.
However, after Nigeria had surprisingly found an equalizer in the 50th minute through Tigres forward Uchenna Kanu, it was Rapinoe's introduction in the 65th that brought the crowd back to life before her quality in the final third restored the USWNT's advantage just one minute later.
The gulf in class between Juventus and the best sides in Europe has never been more clear. Despite a second-half goal from Weston McKennie, Massimiliano Allegri’s side was humbled in Paris as Kylian Mbappé, Neymar and Lionel Messi imposed their will on the Juve defense, winning 2-1.
The story of American keeper Matt Turner has been widely publicized over the last year after the late-blooming New Jersey native went from collegiate afterthought to USMNT hero over a few short years. While Turner will hope to play in the Europa League this year with Arsenal, another American keeper will be taking center stage in the UEFA Champions League — Maccabi Haifa's Josh Cohen.
Cohen's soccer career mirror's that of Turner's, and though he has not received the recent fanfare, Josh Cohen is more than deserving of American soccer fans' attention.
Gio Reyna is back, baby! The American wunderkid seems to have put his muscle injuries in the past and made an immediate impact in Borussia Dortmund's first UCL match of the season, providing two brilliant assists in a 3-0 victory over FC Copenhagen.
Reyna started the game on the bench but soon had to jump onto the field to cover for the injured Thorgan Hazard. The skillful midfielder came on in the 23rd minute, and before halftime, he'd already left his footprint on the game.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a match with as much edge-of-your-seat action as Toronto FC and CF Montréal provided in just the first half Sunday. Two early goals in two minutes from Toronto set the tone for the match before Montréal followed with two goals of its own in two minutes. A Kai Kamara goal just before halftime completed the comeback, and Alistair Johnston sealed the 4-3 win before the hour mark.
We all saw it: Chicharito Hernández's last effort from the penalty spot was genuinely embarrassing. He had the chance to secure three points for the LA Galaxy in a very tight race for the playoffs Sunday, but instead, he decided to perform a poor, sad Panenka against SKC seconds before the final whistle.
Heading into this week, UCLA held the No. 3 ranking in NCAA Division I Women's Soccer but faced a daunting East Coast trip to play No. 2 Duke on Thursday and No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Well, get ready for a new No. 1 across the land because UCLA won both of them.
On Thursday, it was junior forward Reilyn Turner who earned a penalty for UCLA's first and then scored the all-important second in her team's 2-1 victory at the Blue Devils.
When a professional footballer is asked to describe their worst nightmare, the response of "having my own fans chant 'asshole' at me" would probably be considered a totally irrational fear. But that's exactly what happened to New York Red Bulls midfielder Dru Yearwood on Saturday night at Red Bull Arena while getting sent off in his team's 2-0 defeat to Philadelphia.