Try though he might, Cristiano Ronaldo was unable to score on his return to Old Trafford with Juventus a couple weeks ago, though he did record an assist . But with Manchester United coming to Allianz Stadium on Wednesday, the Portuguese star reminded his former club how great he’s become since leaving England in 2009 with a brilliant strike.
There are only a handful of players on the planet who can consistently alter games with their combination of vision, creativity and passing technique, but it should come as no surprise that they all ply their trade at Europe’s most feared attacking sides: Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi and Ivan Rakitic, PSG’s Neymar and Marco Verratti, Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcantara and James Rodriguez.
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.
Wolverhampton Wanderers fell behind by three goals after an hour of play to Tottenham Hotspurs in a (weirdly late) Premier League match on Saturday. And yet, the underdog nearly found a way to come back to tie the match but for a Wolves disallowed goal and a referee who completely forgot the rules in a 3-2 Spurs win.
Playing at home, Wolves didn’t back down from Tottenham, racking up more shots than Spurs, 16-10. But it was the visitors who dominated on the scoreboard, with Eric Lamela, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane all scoring in the first hour of play.
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.