Midfield

Borussia Dortmund have agreed to sell England midfielder Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid for an initial fee of $110.4 million, the Bundesliga club said on Wednesday.

Bellingham will become the third player to be signed by Real Madrid for a fee worth at least 100 million euros after Gareth Bale (2013) and Eden Hazard (2019).

"With realization of this transfer, Real Madrid will pay BVB a fixed transfer compensation in the amount of 103 million euros," Dortmund said in a statement.

With a sell-out crowd of over 35,000 confirmed, free Women's Champions League Final streaming on YouTube and a historic matchup between Barcelona and Wolfsburg — two true giants of the competition — it doesn't get any better than the 2023 UWCL Final in Eindhoven.

Having just turned 30 back in March, Paul Pogba should be at the height of his powers in the Juventus midfield. But the Frenchman has been so riddled by injuries that Sunday's Serie A match between Juve and Cremonese at Allianz Stadium represented his first start since turning out for Manchester United against Norwich back in April of 2022.

For fans of the beautiful game, it's been a tremendous loss — the World Cup winner, when healthy and in form, is an otherworldly mezzala, capable of things his peers can only conjure in their imaginations. 

Manchester City took a massive step on its journey to a third straight Premier League title by beating relegation-threatened Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan was man of the match after scoring a stunning opener in the 37th-minute before setting up Erling Haaland for a header just two minutes later. Then, six minutes into the second half, Gündoğan curled home a right-footed free kick beyond the despairing dive of Jordan Pickford to secure all three points for City.  

After conceding a late penalty that allowed the Philadelphia Union to take the lead, Los Angeles FC's Kellyn Acosta scored in second-half stoppage time as the teams played to a 1-1 draw on Wednesday at Chester, Pa., in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League semifinal series.

The second and final leg of the total-goal series will be played Tuesday in Los Angeles.

All signs pointed to a quick return to the NWSL after Julie Ertz made a surprising comeback with the USWNT, and on Monday we got confirmation of Angel City FC signing her to a one-year contract.

There was a standout moment during Crystal Palace's incredible 5-1 victory over Leeds United on Sunday that I failed to notice — I think I was too busy trying to comprehend Leeds' total capitulation — but now register as one of the best goal celebrations of the 2022-23 season.

With one victory, Leeds United climbed from 18th and relegation to the comfortable heights of 13th on Tuesday night at Elland Road. But with nine matches still to play and the gap between Leeds and 20th-place Southampton just six points, there's still a lot of post-Jesse Marsch ball to come this campaign.

Leeds got strong performances out of Luis Sinisterra, Jack Harrison and Marc Roca in a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest while there was also special praise for Weston McKennie alongside Roca in the team's two-man midfield.

MANCHESTER, England - Pep Guardiola has won nine major trophies at Manchester City but the Spaniard said his managerial era at the Premier League club will be defined by whether he delivers their first Champions League title.

Guardiola has won four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and four League Cups at City but European success has eluded the manager who won the trophy twice as Barcelona manager, with the English club's best finish being runners-up in 2021.