Harry Maguire of Manchester United decided to give Chelsea’s Michy Batshuayi the boot . . . literally. During the first half of the Red Devils-Blues showdown, Maguire kicked Batshuayi where it hurts most.
What did you make of the Harry Maguire/Michy Batshuayi incident earlier in the match? pic.twitter.com/QYg80N9mCQ
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 17, 2020
While the men’s Champions League Round of 16 begins this week, the women’s competition doesn’t return until the end of March with the staging of the quarterfinals. The question — on the back of four straight titles — is can anyone disrupt Lyon’s recent hegemony of the competition?
One potential answer is Wolfsburg.
The club won back-to-back European titles in 2013 and 2014, but in the five tournaments since, they’ve been bounced by Lyon four times (twice in the final, twice in the quarters). This season, the two clubs won’t possibly meet until the final.
After a run of four straight draws, Arsenal finally got back in the win column with a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday. The two clubs somehow entered today’s match level on points, but the gulf in quality between the sides was evident from the off as Newcastle’s beleaguered attack managed only two shots on target while Arsenal dripped quality in the midfield and wide attacking areas.
Dani Ceballos and Mesut Özil looked like the most likely creators for the Gunners as the two combined for seven key passes, but Nicolas Pépé was in inspired form as well.
It’s been an excellent 24 hours for Tottenham’s Champions League aspirations.
Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel thought he could rest his stars against the 19th-place team in Ligue 1 ahead of the start of the Champions League knockout rounds on Tuesday. He was wrong.
SC Amiens scored the game’s first three goals only to see PSG come back to take the lead before a late equalizer gave the home side an unlikely 4-4 draw Saturday at Stade de la Licorne.
With Barcelona reeling at the Camp Nou, the visitors having pulled within a goal, Marc André ter Stegen once again stepped up to save the day. The German goalkeeper made a dizzying save in the 72nd minute to help second-place Barça hold off third-place Getafe for a 2-1 win on Saturday. The Blaugrana pulled back even on points with Real Madrid, at least until Los Blancos play Sunday.
It’s a confirmation of what everyone has come to understand over the past decade, but Miguel Delaney’s article in The Independent on Wednesday — entitled “How football became broken beyond repair” — is a sobering bit of realism that effectively illustrates how stale, predictable, undemocratic and hyper-capitalist the modern game has become.
The USWNT has triumphed at the 2020 CONCACAF Women’s Olympic Qualifying Championship following a 3-0 victory over Canada in the final on Sunday. After a scoreless first half, Lynn Williams, Lindsey Horan and Megan Rapinoe all got on the scoresheet to accentuate a perfect campaign for Tokyo 2020.
After watching Real Madrid defeat Osasuna earlier in the day, Barcelona knew it needed to escape the Benito Villamarín Stadium in Seville with a win to stay within three points of Real at the top of LaLiga. But it’s never easy against Real Betis, and Barcelona’s own fragility away from home was clear for all to see last Thursday when they were dumped out of the Copa del Rey in Bilbao.
After Juventus’ shock 2-1 defeat to Verona on Saturday, Inter had the glorious chance of returning to the top of the Serie A table with a win on Sunday. But standing in the Nerazzurri’s way was rival AC Milan in the Derby della Madonnina.
Although Milan entered the match in 11th place, the club had been rejuvenated by the January arrival of Zlatan Ibrahimović. With Ibrahimović, Milan had gone undefeated in league play (three wins, two draws) and advanced to the semifinals of the Coppa Italia.