Bayern Munich are like a B1G college football team. They grind teams down into dust and break wills. They keep the ball forever so when the opposing team gets it they don't know what to do with it.
Such was the case against Wolfsburg in the DFB Pokal Tuesday.
Douglas Costa's goal today pic.twitter.com/OBmj72LFfF
— Brazil Edition Vids (@BE_Videos) February 7, 2017
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid drew 1-1 at the Camp Nou in the Copa del Rey semifinal second leg, and Barca advanced to the final, 3-2 on aggregate. That description does absolutely no service to what's just transpired in Catalonia.
This match included three red cards, a wrongfully disallowed goal, a ridiculous free kick from Messi that thundered off the crossbar, a contentious penalty, a missed penalty and all the other drama you’ve come to expect from a match between these two clubs.
It may be only the beginning of February, but Chelsea are already looking set to run away with the Premier League title this season.
In the span of four days, Arsenal let slip any hopes they had of overtaking Chelsea for the Premier League title, and in typical Arsenal fashion. Despite being eight points behind Chelsea before the midweek fixtures, Arsenal had a chance to put some pressure on the Blues at the top. The Gunners were taking on mid-table side Watford at the Emirates Stadium while Chelsea traveled to Anfield to face top-four contenders Liverpool.
Scoring too many goals is graceless. In Italy, when a team gets a few goals ahead, an unspoken agreement settles over the pitch; the team in the lead won’t score too many goals and the team behind won’t try too hard to get back into the game. The energy and the pressure eases off and the three points are settled early on.
In the summer of 2013, Sir Alex Ferguson, who had managed the club since 1986, announced his retirement from Manchester United, taking 13 Premier League titles, five FA Cups, four League Cups and two Champions League titles with him.
The Red Devils attempted to continue their unmatched level of success with the hiring of David Moyes, who’d managed Everton with aplomb for over 10 years. Moyes’ first and only season at the helm was an unmitigated disaster.
Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce and Besiktas met in the Turkish Cup round of 16 on Sunday, and Robin van Persie took center stage to make the match entirely about himself.
Just before halftime, Van Persie clashed with Besiktas defender Dusko Tosic. The Dutch striker appeared to knee and elbow the Serbian, and the two then squared off face to face. They might’ve brushed noses, but it was Van Persie who had the idea to start screaming and fling himself at the ground. The referee bought what Van Persie was selling and sent Tosic off.
Remember Julian Green? The 21-year-old American who scored against Belgium in the 2014 World Cup never managed to make much of an impact with Bayern Munich, so he moved to Stuttgart at the beginning of January.
Green scored his first goal for his new club Monday in a 2-0 win over Fortuna Dusseldorf, and showed the type of skill that made him think he would make it at Bayern.
Huddersfield Town manager David Wagner worked as the Borussia Dortmund reserve team manager from 2011-2015 with Jurgen Klopp coaching the senior side. When Klopp was handed the task of managing Liverpool, Wagner was offered the role at Huddersfield in the English Championship.
Wagner, like Klopp, is in his 40s, wears nice glasses and is a bit emotional. On Sunday, Wagner reacted to his side’s late game-winning goal against Leeds United by running the length of the pitch to celebrate with his players.
Week 24 of the Premier League yielded a familiar set of storylines for the division: Chelsea are probably going to win the title, Arsenal’s challenge has collapsed and they’re now in fourth, Liverpool find themselves on the outside looking in and Jose Mourinho is talking about double standards.