USMNT manager Bruce Arena will have been pleased with the opening weekend of MLS play: Clint Dempsey returned from his irregular heartbeat scare to go 90 minutes and score a goal, Kellyn Acosta scored for FC Dallas, Ethan Finlay did the same for Columbus, Matt Besler and Graham Zusi were strong in defense for Kansas City and with Tim Howard only just returning t
Chapecoense traveled to Venezuela to play their first-ever Copa Libertadores match, having qualified by virtue of winning South America’s secondary club competition, the Copa Sudamericana, in 2016.
Facing Zulia, the runner-up in Venezuela’s 2016 Primera Division, away and with a squad made up mostly of players on loan, players that did not board LaMia Flight 2933 and one survivor, defender Neto, Chapecoense entered the match as massive underdogs.
But Chapecoense took the lead off a clever free kick from Reinaldo, a defender on loan from Sao Paulo.
It all started so beautifully for Napoli inside a rocking Stadio San Paolo in Naples in their second leg match against Real Madrid. A mesmerizing buildup led to a really well taken goal by Dries Mertens in the 24th minute.
We love you Arsenal, we do,
We love you Arsenal, we do,
We love you Arsenal, we do,
Oh Arsenal we love you!
Take another look at the penalty decision. Should it have been a red? #UCL #ARSFCB https://t.co/RL2KgT5wEh
21-year-old Luka Zahovic, a Slovenian youth international who was nominated for the FIFA Golden Boy award in 2014, has scored a beautiful goal for Maribor in league play.
An audacious flick with the heel of his boot served as a remarkable first touch, leaving two defenders in his wake. With the keeper rushing out and his angle narrowing, Zahovic’s second touch is a deft lob on the half-volley that arches over the goalkeeper and just under the crossbar.
We've never understood Power Rankings, especially when you can just look at the standings for an official, unarguable list of who's the best and who's the worst. So, with a desire to not do something so unnecessary and redundant, but rather create a new list that makes very little sense, we present: The MLS Rankings of Power.
Every week, we'll update this monstrosity in the hope of finding the most powerful person, place or thing in the most major of major soccer leagues. Let us begin.
Chelsea defeated West Ham on Monday to go 10 points clear at the top of the table with only 11 matches remaining. With Eden Hazard playing out of his goddamn mind, Diego Costa constantly threatening in every sense of the word and N’Golo Kante bossing things in front of the formidable pairing of David Luiz and Gary Cahill, the title race is over.
When he scores, Celtic winger Scott Sinclair is “magical, wonderful.”
So sings the Hoops ultras supporters group, the Green Brigade, whenever the player, signed over the summer by Brendan Rodgers, does something spectacular.
The Green Brigade’s ode is to the tune of “The Logical Song“ by Supertramp, and it’s infectious.
From a neutral’s perspective, thank God for Harry Kane. The Tottenham striker scored his 18th and 19th goals of the campaign to keep a bit of pressure on Chelsea before their match against West Ham on Monday. Tottenham defeated Everton 3-2 on Sunday in a match featuring the Premier League’s leading scorers, Kane and Romelu Lukaku.
The result wasn’t what Clint Dempsey and the defending MLS Cup champions wanted, a 2-1 defeat to Houston Dynamo to start their 2017 season, but the USMNT player and his club will be delighted that he was able to play 90 minutes and score a goal after six months out with an irregular heartbeat.
Dempsey was sidelined last August after the issue was diagnosed, making him a spectator for Seattle’s improbable MLS Cup triumph, but he was cleared to return to play this preseason. Dempsey picked up right where he left off for Seattle, scoring their lone goal in a 2-1 defeat to Houston.