Champions League

Juventus Stadium’s Ovation For Andres Iniesta Will Bring A Tear To Your Eye

Barcelona’s assured display in a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday guaranteed the Blaugrana top spot in Champions League Group D, and with Lionel Messi spending the better part of the opening hour on the bench in Turin, the usual Barca suspects came to the fore to help their side navigate this tricky tie. 

PSG Break Group Stage Scoring Record In 7-1 Thrashing Of Celtic

Celtic has a lot to be proud of, most notably a 64-match domestic unbeaten streak that’s left the rest of Scotland with absolutely nothing to do. But in Champions League play, the Bhoys have gotten a little taste of their own medicine. While the Scottish Premiership bows down to the might of Celtic, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga must similarly contend with Hoops’ UCL group stage opponents Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich. 

Sergio Busquets Is As Cool As A Cucumber

Barcelona-Juventus ended 0-0 and Messi only made a substitute appearance, but there was plenty of incredible soccer to go around. For example, in the first half Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets found himself being pressed by Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic. Did Busquets safely pass the ball back to a center half or his goalkeeper? No. Did he panic and hoof the pall up the pitch in the general direction of Luis Suarez? No.

Instead, Busquets calmly (and slowly) gave Pjanic the ol' Zidane roulette before (still slowly) skipping away and finding Ivan Rakitic.

This Awesome Scissor-Kick Goal From Griezmann Is Tastier Than Your Momma’s Thanksgiving Dinner

Thanksgiving (if you’re in the United States) is here and while most Americans equate that with home-cooked meals, France’s Antoine Griezmann has something a little tastier for you this holiday. With Atletico Madrid needing a win to keep its Champions League hopes alive, this Griezmann goal vs Roma was more sumptuous than a well-cooked turkey and sweeter than your favorite pie fresh out of the oven. 

Griezmann struck a glorious scissor-kick goal in the 69th minute, sparking the home side to a 2-0 victory on Wednesday at the Wanda. 

Quaresma Had No Choice But To Nutmeg The Referee During A Match

We posited on Tuesday that Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino is the most disrespectful player in the game. But Firmino does his dirty deeds to opponents. Ricardo Quaresma is disrespectful to referees. Which is worse?

Before Firmino scored his naughty no-look goal against Sevilla, Besiktas winger Quaresma pulled off this little maneuver, nutmegging the assistant referee while waiting to take a corner kick against Porto in their Champions League match.

Chelsea's Second Goal Against Qarabag Was A Thing Of Beauty

Chelsea have disappointed this season so far, but against Qarabag Wednesday they had a moment when it all clocked, when everything moved together like parts of a Swiss watch.

Roberto Firmino Is The Most Disrespectful Player In The Game

Roberto Firmino will pull your pants down, pull them back up and then pull them back down again and laugh at you.

Insigne’s Perfect Strike Keeps Napoli’s Champions League Hopes Alive

Napoli absolutely had to beat Shakhtar Donetsk to have any chance to advance in the Champions League and thanks to a perfect Lorenzo Insigne goal the Italian side is still alive. Insigne’s long-range hit sparked a 3-0 victory for the home side on Tuesday.  

After a scoreless first half, Insigne gave Napoli hope when he cut in from the left wing and launched a curling effort from 25 yards out, finding the upper 90 in supreme fashion.

Luka Modric Pounces As APOEL Goofily Illustrates How Not To Clear A Ball

Some fine finishing from Luka Modric perfectly illustrated to APOEL how not to clear a ball when defending. The Croatian scored the first goal in the Real Madrid vs. APOEL Champions League match off a silly failed clearance on Tuesday in Cyprus. Los Blancos won the match 6-0.

When you’re in your own box, you do not mess around. Your first task is to keep the ball away from the other team and get the ball away from your goal. You clear it toward the sidelines and not in the middle of the pitch. If in doubt, kick it out. 

Good Grief, How About THIS Save From Roman Burki?

Real Madrid’s 46-goal victory over APOEL dumped Borussia Dortmund from the Champions League on Tuesday regardless of their result against Tottenham, but a Christian Pulisic-less BVB still succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Spurs at the Westfalenstadion.

And it all started so well for the home side. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gave Dortmund the lead in the 31st minute after Andriy Yarmolenko provided a filthy assist for the Gabonese striker.

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