Back on November 24, 2017, Guadalajara completed a three-goal comeback in the Apertura championship to shock Pachuca in the inaugural season of Liga MX Femenil, the top-flight women’s league in Mexico. Key to Chivas’ triumph was midfield captain Tania Morales, a 31-year-old native of Guadalajara who scored five goals and two assists in the 14-match regular season to lead her club into the playoffs.
A trip to the Balaidos in Galicia is never tepid waters — Barcelona were made to weather their own storm in the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula on Thursday in a frantic 1-1 Copa del Rey Round of 16 draw — and Celta Vigo again showcased their formidable home fortress in a 2-2 La Liga draw with Real Madrid on Sunday.
In the end, it’s all shock and horror for Arsene Wenger and Arsenal FC. Their 4-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Sunday means it’s the first time since Wenger became Arsenal’s manager that they’ve failed to progress past the third round — a record of 21 straight seasons that’s now over. Forest are also the first team from a lower division to score four or more goals against Arsenal in the FA Cup since 1908.
Philippe Coutinho is coming, but before the Little Magician is able to impact his new side, Barcelona neatly summarized their 2017-18 season so far with a 3-0 victory over Levante that oozed class all around the pitch. The Camp Nou was witness to three beautiful goals on the day, one from Lionel Messi, another from Luis Suarez and the final from Paulinho off a mesmerizing Messi assist.
If you take your eyes off Manchester City, if you relax for just a moment, they will absolutely destroy you. Burnley learned that the hard way in the FA Cup third round. After the visitors took a surprise first-half lead, Manchester City punished them for a short lapse in concentration with Sergio Aguero scoring two goals in two minutes to turn a halftime deficit into a second-half lead on the way to a 4-1 victory on Saturday at the Etihad.
Oh Diego, how we missed you. Diego Costa made his long-awaited return to La Liga on Saturday as Atletico Madrid hosted Getafe at the Wanda Metropolitano. After the mercurial striker scored five minutes into his return with Atletico on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey, Costa had six more minutes of madness that perfectly encapsulate the best and worst he has to offer.
Manchester United looked like it was heading toward a replay with Derby County in the FA Cup third round on Friday. Despite playing at home and with a lineup close to full strength, the Red Devils couldn’t break down the English Championship side. Until an incredible Jesse Lingard goal in the 84th minute.
Lingard, who has been on fire of late, scored his fourth goal in four matches to lift Manchester United to a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford.
The United Arab Emirates is coached by an Italian, Alberto Zaccheroni. And like any good Italian, he can employ catenaccio like a champ. UAE didn’t allow a single goal in the Arabian Gulf Cup. Unfortunately, his team couldn’t score, either, and Oman edged UAE in a shootout to win the Arabian Gulf Cup final on Friday in Kuwait City, Kuwait.
The UAE advanced through the knockout rounds with two 0-0 draws and a 1-0 win over Oman thanks to a penalty scored by Ali Mabkhout. In the semifinals, they beat Iraq in a shootout after another 0-0 draw.
Real Madrid traveled to face second-tier Numancia in the first leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 16 matchup on Thursday. They were fortunate to come out with a 3-0 victory, scoring two penalties and riding their luck against a Numancia side that was inches away from greatness.
Real Madrid rested a number of stars for the cup match but still fielded a team with Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, Dani Carvajal and Lucas Vazquez. Numancia, which is currently in fifth place in the Segunda Division in Spain, fielded none of its $100 million stars, probably because it has none.
Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min saved his side from a calamitous home defeat to West Ham United after absolutely lacing a strike in the 84th minute of their Premier League encounter. Pedro Obiang had given West Ham the advantage in the 70th minute with his own vicious punt, but Son’s seventh goal of the EPL season saw Spurs salvage a draw.
It’s still a hugely disappointing result for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, who sit fifth after 22 matches — three points behind Liverpool in fourth. The result also keeps sixth-place Arsenal only two points back on their London rivals.