While the likes of Lionel Messi, Bruno Fernandes and Thierry Henry juggle a piece of toilet paper around, Lonestar SC Academy and U.S. U-14 talent Mabry Williams is on to bigger and better things.
One year ago, Italian midfielder Gaetano Castrovilli was playing for Cremonese in Serie B with a transfer market value of just under $2 million. Fast forward to the present day and Inter is reportedly ready to offer Fiorentina $44 million for the 23-year-old.
It’s a tactic that’s frequently implemented during elementary school recess, but its application at the professional level is far less pronounced: After a quick throw-in during a match in Romania between Makedonija Gjorce Petrov and Akademija Pandev, a defender chased after play with a spare ball in his hands before throwing it at the feet of the attacking player and knocking the live ball away.
After a run of four straight draws, Arsenal finally got back in the win column with a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday. The two clubs somehow entered today’s match level on points, but the gulf in quality between the sides was evident from the off as Newcastle’s beleaguered attack managed only two shots on target while Arsenal dripped quality in the midfield and wide attacking areas.
Dani Ceballos and Mesut Özil looked like the most likely creators for the Gunners as the two combined for seven key passes, but Nicolas Pépé was in inspired form as well.
Injuries, a contentious World Cup and the personal admission of a desire to abandon the PSG project have all adversely affected Neymar over the past two years — so much so that he found himself omitted entirely from the 30-man list for the 2019 Ballon d’Or.
Despite Antoine Griezmann scoring his first league goal in seven weeks with a sumptuous chip and Lionel Messi recording a record-breaking 35th hat-trick in LaLiga, all anyone wants to talk about nearly 24 hours after Barcelona’s captivating 5-2 victory over Mallorca is the Luis Suárez effort that the Uruguayan striker is labelling the best of his career.
Two momentous matches, two heavenly touches.
In the 31st minute of Liverpool’s Merseyside derby with Everton, Divock Origi gave the Reds a 3-1 lead after cushioning a long ball from Dejan Lovren straight into his own path. His second touch was a looping effort over the despairing Jordan Pickford.
Origi’s first touch was softer than Charmin.
Divock. Origi. pic.twitter.com/ltWk97jtGb
The 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup came to a close on Sunday with Portugal lifting the trophy following a 6-4 victory over Italy in the final. The Azzurri’s Gabriele Gori finished as top scorer for the second-straight tournament with 16 goals in six games, but it was Japan’s Ozu Moreira who received the Golden Ball award as the World Cup’s best player.
Tuesday’s Champions League Group A encounter between Real Madrid and PSG at the Santiago Bernabéu was pretty much meaningless. Both teams entered the match with Round of 16 qualification secured, and even a Real victory would do little to wrest top spot from PSG due to the Parisians’ perfect record thus far.
Manchester United defeated Brighton 3-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday to move up to seventh in the Premier League table heading into November’s international break. A heavily deflected Andreas Pereira effort and a Davy Pröpper own goal got United off to a 2-0 lead before the 20th minute, and although Lewis Dunk pulled one back for Brighton off a corner, Marcus Rashford’s sixth goal in 12 EPL appearances guaranteed all three points for the home side.