Three years ago, the USWNT suffered its worst defeat ever. OK, it wasn’t USMNT vs. Trinidad and Tobago bad, but it was, by the high standards of the American women, a major disappointment when Sweden knocked the U.S. out of the 2016 Olympic quarterfinals.
After a minor injury that spiraled into 10 operations, an infection that ate away at his tendon and threatened foot amputation, a skin graft that resulted in part of his left arm tattoo moving to his right foot and ultimately, a spell of 636 days without football, Santi Cazorla made a remarkable comeback with Villarreal last season, appearing in 46 matches, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists.
Hector Herrera’s time at Porto is coming to an end. But he’s leaving on a high note after a stunning, match-winning, scissor-kick goal against Sporting on Saturday.
The handsome Mexican midfielder has been a mainstay in the Portuguese side since moving from Pachuca in 2013, perhaps never more so than this past season, in which Herrera scored nine goals across all competitions.
Tyler Adams has started four matches for RB Leipzig following his January move, and the Bundesliga side has won all four of those games. However, even though he registered his first assist in Leipzig’s victory over Stuttgart last time out, the 20-year-old American was forced to take a spot on the bench for today’s game against Hoffenheim.
There’s always more to like about AFC Bournemouth: the 11,329-capacity Dean Court; cherubic 10-year-old boy whiz manager Eddie Howe; the fact that the club was in the fourth division as recently as 2010 but now sits comfortably in 10th during its fourth consecutive season in the Premier League (following on finishes of 16th, 9th and 12th).
Bayern Munich has signed 17-year-old Real Salt Lake academy product Taylor Booth on a three-and-a-half-year deal, according to Sports Illustrated. Booth is a member of the USMNT U-18 team, and he was a part of the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2017 U-17 World Cup.
Quick, who’s the most expensive transfer of the January window so far? You should know this — it’s the $75 million Chelsea paid Borussia Dortmund for Christian Pulisic. Now what about the second-most expensive? Any ideas? It’s the $41 million AC Milan paid Flamengo for 21-year-old Brazilian Lucas Paquetá.
It’s been said before, but Paul Pogba, at his best, is akin to a Medieval English siege tower. He’s unassailable in possession, and he’s here to decimate your last line of defense while preying on that most primitive of human emotions — fear.
He’s a contortionist with the ball at his feet, a skill set made all the more bewildering by his imposing 6-3 frame.
A lot has been made of the fact that without Eden Hazard, Chelsea would resemble nothing more than a strange, amorphous tribute to Yokohama Tires out on the pitch. That criticism is mainly aimed at Alvaro Morata and Olivier Giroud leading the line, where the two have combined for only six Premier League goals.
Replacing Cristiano Ronaldo’s average of 50 goals per season throughout his nine-year stay in Madrid has (surprise!) proven impossible for Los Blancos. Things probably reached rock bottom following that 5-1 defeat to Barcelona back in October — the climax of a five-match winless streak in LaLiga that included defeats to Alavés and Levante — but yesterday’s 3-0 loss to CSKA Moscow at the Bernabéu is right up there with that torrid stretch.