Barcelona came into their game against Real Betis knowing that they needed to win to stay in first place in La Liga over Atletico Madrid via head-to-head point differential, but they came out of the gates like a team with little to play for.
Seven yellow cards were given out between Barcelona and Betis in the first half, more than the number of shots taken by both teams in that time, six.
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic capitalized on an error by Joe Heart with an amazing 30-yard bicycle kick goal back in 2013, we thought it was a feat of singular athleticism and genius that could never be replicated. However, Javi Gomez, a 33-year-old striker in the Spanish Segunda Division B, has created that outlandish goal’s spirit double.
I would like to begin this article by formally walking back every single thing I predicted for the Atletico Madrid vs. Bayern Munich Champions League semi-final this morning. I was wrong, and I am sorry. The game was not boring. It was exciting, and it featured one of the best solo goals, especially considering the stakes, you'll see all year.
It'e nearing the end of the season in Portugal's Premeira Liga, and the title is still very much up for contention. Leaders Benfica hold a two point lead over second-place Sporting CP thanks to some late heroics this Sunday against Rio Ave by Benfica's 24-year-old Mexican striker, Raul Jimenez.
In the 73rd minute, Benfica found themselves 0-0 with sixth-place Rio Ave, and if the game had ended with that score Benfica would only be ahead in the league on goal differential. Jimenez had other plans, however, and they involved using his head.
Bayer Leverkusen and Mexico National Team striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez is already having the best club season of his professional career, and it just keeps getting better for the Little Pea.
Leverkusen found themselves losing 2-0 to Schalke 04 early in the second half Saturday before scoring three goals in six minutes to capture a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Chicharito got the third, which proved to be the eventual winner.
Corinthians won the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro with a 12-point lead over their nearest rival, Atletico Mineiro. They lost only five games all season while compiling a goal difference of +40, earning direct qualification to the second stage of the 2016 Copa Libertadores. They simply dominated all challengers while scoring a league best 71 goals.
It just isn’t fair. La Masia, soccer’s foremost player production line, looks loaded with the next generation of talent that will ensure Barcelona’s dominance for years to come. Barcelona’s academy is renowned for its philosophy of play, dictating an emphasis on technical ability and one-touch play.
Barcelona have been in a bad way (for them) recently. They sandwiched two league losses around a stunning loss to Atletico Madrid that bounced them from the Champions League (after having won the first leg). This was the first time Barcelona had lost three games in a row since 2003. The momentum changed Wednesday, when Luis Suarez apparently decided he had had enough, and took his frustration out on the hapless Deportivo la Coruna, to the tune of four goals and three assists.
Brazil, the land of Samba, is the birthplace of the football style known as "Joga Bonito." "Play beautiful." Brazil, supposedly, is where the beautiful game is at its most beautiful. It's where sport becomes art, where substance and style are one and the same, where the field is a canvass, and the feet are the paintbrushes.
There's also this.
Introducing the Brazilian Serie B pic.twitter.com/Zs1umuZZdy
Precocious 17-year-old American Christian Pulisic scored his first-ever first-team goal for Borussia Dortmund Sunday in a 3-0 win against Hamburg. This is a big deal, but just how bit a deal it is remains to be seen.
"A star is born!" #USMNT's Christian Pulisic scores his first Bundesliga goal for Borussia Dortmund. #BVBHSV https://t.co/tPSnRgHJph