The Portland vs Seattle conference semifinal second leg clash absolutely lived up to the hype. It was a bonkers game, with five goals scored after the 65th minute, including two in extra time before the Timbers won it on penalty kicks. Hopefully you were able to stay awake for it as it finished early Friday morning in many parts of the country.
The Didier Drogba USL fun appears to be at an end.
Drogba, the former Chelsea and Ivory Coast star striker, became a part owner and player of the United Soccer League’s Phoenix Rising last year and thrilled the league with his goal scoring and affable nature.
The match was always going to be a draw — that would put Barcelona on the cusp of passage to the Round of 16, and that would be enough for Internazionale to put Tottenham firmly in the rearview mirror.
And so it was a draw.
Inter constantly put nine defenders behind the ball, leaving Mauro Icardi to halfheartedly pressure Gerard Pique while Radja Nainggolan played the role of attacking midfielder in name only, but things didn’t go exactly to plan for Luciano Spalletti's men.
The much-anticipated Portland Timbers vs. Seattle Sounders Western Conference Semifinal first leg lived up to the hype at Providence Park on Sunday evening. Seattle started brightly and opened the scoring in the 10th minute through Raul Ruidiaz, but a 23-minute period of hell between the 17th and 40th minutes saw an equalizer from Jeremy Ebobisse, the go-ahead goal from Sebastian Blanco and forced injury substitutions to Cristian Roldan (groin) and Chad Marshall (knee).
A quadruple-header of Sunday MLS Conference Semifinal playoff action began with a shock Columbus Crew first leg victory over No. 1 seed New York Red Bulls at MAPFRE Stadium, and it was thanks to a beautiful connection between Federico Higuain and the totally rejuvenated Gyasi Zardes in the 61st minute.
Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League table with an emphatic 6-1 win over Southampton on Sunday, including a three-goal barrage in the match’s opening 18 minutes. Raheem Sterling scored a brace, Sergio Aguero reached the landmark of 150 EPL goals, David Silva laced a fine volley and Leroy Sane forced a Wesley Hoedt own goal before getting on the scoresheet himself to complete the rout.
Given the tightness at the top, it’s also worth noting that City took its goal differential to +28 with the scoreline — by far the best in the division.
It could easily be argued that LaLiga is the best soccer league in the world, but there’s just something about big matchups in the Premier League that can’t be touched. Aside from El Clásico, Top 6 battles in the EPL thrill like nothing else in world domestic football, and as these Arsenal vs Liverpool highlights show, Saturday’s meeting between the second- and fourth-place teams was no different.
Ultimately, it ended in a 1-1 draw, but the match was breathtaking from start to finish, with a stunning goal from Alexandre Lacazette evening out James Milner’s smashing opener.
The MLS playoffs began Wednesday, on Halloween. Crowds were pretty pathetic.
With the second pair of MLS Knockout Round matches on Thursday, attendance at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and Banc of California Stadium in LA was just what you wanted it to be, with stadiums full of rowdy — perhaps too rowdy in LA.
Frank Lampard spent 13 spectacularly productive seasons as a midfielder for Chelsea. He returned to Stamford Bridge as coach of Derby County and watched as his team suffered a heartening 3-2 defeat in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday. The Chelsea vs Derby County highlights absolutely lived up to the hype with one of the wildest League Cup matches we’ve seen since the 7-5 thriller between Arsenal and Reading in 2012.
After losing the home leg of its Copa Libertadores semifinal against Grêmio 1-0 in Buenos Aires, River Plate pulled off a shocking 2-1 reverse scoreline in Porto Alegre on Tuesday night to advance to the final of South America’s premier club competition on away goals. For River Plate, the late dramatics were pure delirium; for Grêmio, it was the cruelest of defeats.
Everything started brilliantly for the Brazilian club. In the 36th minute, Léo Gomes gave his side a 2-0 aggregate lead with a nicely taken half-volley from outside the 18. Arena do Grêmio lost it.