It was another memorable UEFA Champions League group stage with England, Germany and Portugal flexing their collective might while Spain suffered some historically bad performances. The Champions League last 16 draw date is now set for Monday, Nov.
Dentro de la lista de cosas que hacer antes de morir de cualquier futbolista sudamericano, seguro que hay una línea en que dice ser "campeón de una Copa Libertadores y campeón de una Champions League". Sin embargo, en la historia son pocos los jugadores que pueden presumir haber ganado los trofeos de los torneos continentales más importantes del planeta.
Pero de vez en cuando pasa y el central brasileño David Luiz es testimonio vivo de que ese deseo puede ser realidad.
Copa Libertadores, the most riveting club tournament on the planet, will decide on a new champion this Saturday. Although two-time winners Palmeiras is out of the picture this time, two Brazilian teams will be determining the title for the third year straight.
The contenders? Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense.
Considering their history and the players in the team, the Rio de Janeiro giants are the big favorites in the final.
Ajax is out of the Champions League. The Dutch team lost 3-0 against Liverpool at home on a night that only could be described as a nightmare for Mexican internationals Jorge Sánchez and Edson Álvarez.
Both started the game and helped to keep the Reds at bay during most of the first half. Sánchez even had a chance to put his name on the scoreboard, but Alisson easily controlled his shot.
Álvarez was not bad himself, showing off a few skills to explain why Chelsea, Manchester United and Barcelona are monitoring him.
Chelsea travelled to Red Bull Arena and beat Salzburg 2-1 Tuesday night to clinch passage to the Champions League Round of 16 for the fourth straight year.
Christian Pulisic, making his first start since scoring against Wolves on Oct. 8, played a role in both goals, although they were spectacularly finished by Mateo Kovačić and Kai Havertz.
Former Chelsea and Arsenal player David Luiz experienced a night of contrasting emotions last Wednesday. The defender led Flamengo over Corinthians to claim the fourth Brazilian Cup in the club's history but, seconds later, had to deal with disturbing news about his family, who had suffered a car accident just before the game.
Dicen que las penas del fútbol se pasan con fútbol y Jorge Sánchez puede dar fe de ello. El lateral mexicano anotó su primer gol con la playera del Ajax – en el aplastante 7-1 sobre el Excelsior, en la Eredivisie – y con ello ayudó a borrar un poco la triste imagen que había dejado a mitad de semana en la derrota ante Napoli en la Champions League.
Get Malik Tillman on the plane.
The 20-year-old USMNT prodigy is at that nascent stage in his career where there's going to be ebbs and flows. Tillman arrived on loan at Rangers from Bayern Munich and had an incredible August — scoring in both Champions League qualifying and the Scottish Premiership — but a downturn in form saw him left on the bench for Rangers' last league match and Wednesday's 7-1 UCL defeat to Liverpool at the Ibrox.
El mediocampista mexicano Erick Gutiérrez no desaprovechó una de las escasas titularidades que ha tenido en la temporada 2022-23 y anotó la apertura de la cuenta en la goleada 5-0 del PSV sobre el FC Zürich en la Europa League.
Guti no tuvo que esperar demasiado para demostrarle a su técnico, el ex jugador Ruud van Nistelrooy, el hambre que tiene por ser titular en los Granjeros, ya que a los nueve minutos se hacía presente en el marcador.
Pese a que no pudo marcar goles, Santiago Giménez de todos modos se las arregló para aportar su granito de arena en el empate 2-2 del Feyenoord ante el FC Midtjylland en la Europa League.
Tal como ocurrió el fin de semana pasado en la Eredivisie, el técnico Arne Slot decidió darle la titularidad al delantero mexicano en desmedro del brasileño Danilo.