We've written about Hirving "Chucky" Lozano's so-far excellent first season in Europe more times than we can count, but we are going to do it again because Chucky scored again.
Lozano finished off a wonderful team move for PSV (the assist from Luuk de Jong is just great) in the 17th minute against Excelsior in the Eredivisie Wednesday. It was the only goal of the match.
Arsenal fans know all about catastrophic blunders in defense this year. From Granit Xhaka completely switching off to Petr Cech whiffing on a kick, the Gunners’ defensive frailty is terrifying — and that’s just the Swansea game. But Ayr United in Scotland has Arsenal beat for ineptitude at the back. This video is just under a minute long, but it’s 58 seconds of the worst football you’ll watch this year.
Cristiano Ronaldo is not one to let a branding opportunity pass him by, so it goes without saying he had some American football content ready to go for the Super Bowl.
Not bad for my first time playing football pic.twitter.com/oAaLFOnMn8
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) February 5, 2018
Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana played for the Reds' U-23 squad against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday while rehabbing an injury. There is no good way to say this: He jumped on a Spurs player's back and tried to choke him.
Even though Lallana isn't known for this sort of thing, this is still really bad. We at The18 would like to go on record as being against choking people during soccer games.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw between Newcastle United and Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park kept both teams rooted in the Premier League’s 10-team relegation scrap, and perhaps that was the motivation for this pitch invader’s attempt to literally drown his sorrows on the field.
The man’s antics included pouring beer all over his face, going on a short jog before getting absolutely truck-sticked by a vigilant steward and then offering a flurry of wanker gestures and Bronx salutes while being escorted from the ground. What a day out.
I hope you watched Liverpool versus Tottenham this afternoon. If the Super Bowl comes close to matching the dramatics of this match, we’ve got a repeat of New England-Atlanta on our hands. It was madness. It was pandemonium. It was classic Greek tragedy.
Mohamed Salah’s legend as the most likable footballer on the planet grew and the penalty drama (x2) will never be resolved, but my word did Victor Wanyama lace one. Personally, I saw zero trace of the ball as it pulverized the ol’ onion bag (sorry for that reference).
Ignacio “Nacho” Scocco scored perhaps the best goal of 2018 on Saturday during River Plate’s Argentine Primera Division match against Olimpo. Scocco scored a brace, leading Los Millonarios to a 2-0 victory, but the lasting memory will be this sensational solo effort, calling to mind the likes of international compatriots Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
The play-by-play from the commentator is absolutely sensational as well, it must be said. Scocco’s surname really lends itself to the ol' goooooooool call.
Here’s an idea: a book or film chronicling the moments when various footballers were first introduced to the otherworldly enigma that is Lionel Messi. It’d be a hugely enjoyable, albeit largely repetitive, piece.