Hello darkness my old friend.
As an Arsenal fan, waking up at 4:00 a.m. on a Sunday for a sunrise hike with my roommate, only to run out of gas halfway to the trailhead, was a lot like getting home after said hike knowing that I had today’s Arsenal vs Manchester United game recorded, only to accidentally check my notifications and see two Marcus Rashford goals against Arsenal.
Not that Meghan Klingenberg would have had any trouble stealing our hearts normally, but today she especially stole our hearts with this video of the USWNT star accepting an award (sadly, not an Oscar).
Red-carding a player is serious business. The player has more than likely done something really bad, and tempers are stretched to the breaking point. It's one of the most tense situations in soccer.
Because the situation is so tense, referees don't go for much in the way of audience participation when tossing players out of games.
Salih Dursun apparently didn't like that part of the arrangement, and decided to insert himself into the action, with predictable results.
Memphis Depay is a murderer. In Manchester United's game against FC Midtjylland, The Dutch international repeatedly destroyed poor right back Andre Romer, who was left almost in tears after the display. The Red Devils crushed the Danish club 5-1, and at times it seemed more like Memphis Depay vs Midtjylland as the Dutchman ran rampant.
Brazilian Luciano Pereira, also known as Chiba, scored an absolute wonder goal for Sepahan, an Iranian club, against Al-Nasr of the United Arab Emirates in their opening Asian Champions League group match. It took all of 14 minutes for Pereira to smash this 30 yard golazo and send Sepahan on their way to a comprehensive 2-0 victory.
Leg 2 of the Europa League's last 32 teams happened today, and while there were some great goals and stories, Hakan Calhanoglu's goal for Bayern Leverkusen stood out during the day. His volley in the 87th minute was the nail in the coffin for Sporting Lisbon. With the 3 - 1 victory, Leverkusen advance on aggregate to the Round of 16 in Europa League.
While many turn their focus to UEFA Champions League, top clubs in the US and Central America are facing off in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF Champions League. The Seattle Sounders faced Mexican side, Club América and played to a 2 - 2 draw. Clint Dempsey got the scoring started with a curling freekick in the 43rd minute. The 1 - 0 lead wouldn't last long as Club América came back with a goal of their own before the half in the 45th minute. Dempsey would score again to retake the lead, but it evaporated on a 70th minute goal from Oribe Peralta.
Manchester City took on Dynamo Kiev and won 3 - 1. Sergio Aguero opened the scoring early in the 15th minute. David Silva added the second in the 40th and Yaya Toure scored a third in the 90th minute. For Kiev, Vitaliy Buyalsky scored in the 58th minute. In the Netherlands, PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid played to a 0 - 0 draw.
Leg 2 for these four teams is on March 15th as PSV fly to Madrid and Kiev visit Manchester.
Manchester City vs. Dynamo Kiev
The Selecao will be hoping that the next Brazilian soccer star will emerge this summer. The Olympics are coming to Rio, and the Brazilian soccer team will be hoping to avoid the same traumatizing result as that of the 2014 World Cup. They'll also be looking for a bit of revenge after being the favorites in London in 2012, only to lose to Mexico in the final.
Louis van Gaal wants his players to be horny for the Europa League. Seriously. Here's the man himself.
Listen to Louis van Gaal say "horny" (via @SportDictator)pic.twitter.com/rkOFx54TXh
— HuffPost Sports (@HuffPostSports) February 24, 2016