Underdogs

Although we still have a few replays to settle, the FA Cup Third Round is pretty much done and dusted, giving us time to look at the darlings of the competition with 32 clubs remaining. 

The usual favorites are all there — Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs — but we also have three clubs that standout at the opposite end of the spectrum. Barnet, playing in the fifth tier, is the lowest ranked remaining club and the only non-League side left.

Serie A has long been defined by aging Italian footballers getting better with age, just like a fine box of Franzia. Recent examples include Francesco Totti scoring 15 at the age of 34, Filippo Inzaghi hitting 13 at the age of 35, Alessandro Del Piero notching 13 at 34, Luca Toni dropping 22 at 38 and Antonio Di Natale recording 14 at 37. 

No one expected Crystal Palace to have any chance of getting anything out of a trip to the Etihad on Saturday. Roy Hodgson probably didn’t even plan for a point against the defending Premier League champs. But then the Andros Townsend goal vs Man City broke Pep Guardiola’s side.

Townsend unleashed a vicious volley from 30 yards in the 35th minute to send the Eagles on their way to a remarkable 3-2 victory over Manchester City on Saturday. 

Everything appeared to be business as usual when Ilkay Gündogan put City in front in the 27th minute with a nice header.

In 2016, Iceland was the darling of the football world. Buoyed by bearded backers belting out their brilliant Viking chant, Iceland reached the quarterfinals of the European Championship, the country’s first-ever major international tournament. 

The following year, Iceland qualified for its first-ever World Cup, becoming the lowest-populated country to ever reach the tournament. Qualification coincided with Iceland peaking at No. 18 in FIFA’s rankings of international teams earlier this year, an astonishing climb after hitting the nadir of No. 131 just six years prior. 

The ridiculous transformation that D.C. United’s experienced since the arrival of Wayne Rooney reached a fitting conclusion today with a 3-1 victory over New York City FC and a berth in the 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs. Rooney scored twice for United and strike partner Luciano Acosta was also on the scoresheet before David Villa struck a late consolation goal on a celebratory day at Audi Field.

After failing to make the grade at Atletico Madrid four years ago and following that up with three years of diminishing returns with Benfica — culminating in a return of only eight goals in 43 appearances last season — Raúl Jiménez’s loan move to Wolverhampton back in June had all the stink of today’s bewildering transfer market.

It appeared to be nothing more than super agent Jorge Mendes using his clout to wheel and deal the 27-year-old in a way that lined his own pockets while allowing Benfica to finally cut financial ties with the $11 million flop.