Analysis

Zlatan Is Celebrating His 40th Birthday By Leading Sweden In World Cup Qualifying

After missing the European Championship with a knee injury that lingered into the start of the new season, AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimović has been recalled to the Sweden national team for a pair of upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Kosovo (Oct. 9) and Greece (Oct. 12). Ibrahimović celebrates his 40th birthday on Oct. 3, so we’ll get to see if transitioning into the "middle age adult" stage of life has any effect on his game.

You wouldn’t think so.

OL Reign’s Lyon Connection Was A Real Thing Of Beauty This Weekend

This is what Reign fans were hoping for when Olympique Lyonnais became the NWSL club’s majority owner last year. This is what fans of all the other NWSL teams were afraid of when one of the league’s best-supported clubs joined together with the most dominant force in European women’s football.

OL Reign’s Lyon connection paid massive dividends in a 3-0 win over the Orlando Pride on Sunday. Two Lyon stars linked up for one of the prettiest goals you’ll see all year, an intricate piece of passing that highlighted the quality of Europe’s best footballers.

¡Agárrate, Liga MX! Los Bravos Del Tuca Ferretti Llevan Tres Victorias Al Hilo

El FC Juárez comenzó mal el Apertura 2021. Terrible. Tan mal que por momentos el equipo parecía ir destartalándose en plena marcha y hasta daba la impresión que en cualquier momento se iba a quedar sin su chofer, Ricardo Ferretti. 

Puesto en el frío universo de los números, hace un par de semanas, los Bravos acumulaban un gran total de cero victorias en siete partidos disputados, con cinco derrotas y dos empates.

Brighton Is Playing About As Well As It Did Last Year, Which Is Bad News For The Rest Of The EPL

There has long been a dichotomy amidst the two schools of footballing thought. 

Between good and evil.

Light and dark.

All-out attack and defensive drudgery.

Brighton & Hove Albion has tried both methods during its previous four seasons in the Premier League, yet neither style of play has led the Gulls to a league finish higher than 15th.

Pochettino Did What No Manager Has Done In The Last Decade — He Substituted Lionel Messi Off

Mauricio Pochettino is in the headlines after he made the bold decision to substitute Lionel Messi during Paris Saint-Germain’s tight 2-1 victory against Lyon on Sunday. How many times has Messi been subbed you might ask? Almost never.

With the scored tied at 1-1 Pochettino felt that taking Messi out of the game would help his side. 

PSG’s Hyped MNM Lineup Melted Before Our Eyes

In the annals of soccer history, you have to pick from some of the greatest teams of all time to find a front three that compares to the PSG lineup Mauricio Pochettino chose on Wednesday. For the first time, he was able to field Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, the much-hyped MNM trio.

The vaunted PSG lineup didn’t last long nor did it impress on the road at Club Brugge. The star forwards went scoreless as Paris Saint-Germain was held to a stunning 1-1 draw by the Belgian side. Club Brugge looked far more exciting on offense, outshooting PSG 16-9 (7-4 on target). 

The Most Dangerous Dribbler Isn’t Messi, It’s A Fed-Up Chelsea Center Back With Nothing To Lose

Chelsea defeated Zenit 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, but one of the most exciting moments of the match came from center back Antonio Rudiger. With nothing working in the final third, Rudiger decided he’ll do what Kurt Zouma did against Ajax. Let’s compare the Rudiger and Zouma runs.

First, let’s start with the original Chelsea center back dash. During Chelsea’s Champions League clash against Ajax in 2019 Zouma dribbled through the entire team before launching his shot into orbit.

Look Away Barça Fans: This Bayern Defeat Was Even Uglier Than The 8-2

Exactly 13 months after Barcelona suffered ultimate humiliation at the hands of Bayern Munich, the Blaugrana welcomed Die Roten to the Camp Nou to open Group E play in the Champions League. Based solely on scores, Barcelona improved by three goals, but it looked so much worse in doing so. At one point, Serge Gnabry took pity on his defender and kicked the ball out of bounds. 

Who Didn’t Suck? USMNT Player (And Coach) Ratings For First World Cup Qualifying Window

Whew. That was a close one. Facing the prospect of two points from its opening three World Cup qualifiers, the USMNT rallied for a big 4-1 win on Wednesday night in Honduras, salvaging a decent showing over the September international window. It wasn’t great, but the Americans avoided disaster, which makes our USMNT player ratings (and coach rating) all the spicier.

After 45 Minutes Of Agony, Gregg Berhalter And The U.S. Earned Redemption In Honduras

The USMNT played one of its worst opening 45 minutes in the modern era on Wednesday night in Honduras, and then followed that up with one of the greatest second halfs we've ever seen. Both were largely down to the choices of Gregg Berhalter, and while we should ultimately value and treasure the second 45, we shouldn't immediately forget about the first half.

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