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
Back when things were still astonishingly glorious at Leicester, before Claudio Ranieri could be found trying to choke out N’Golo Kante in his blue Chelsea shirt, Ranieri wrote an article for The Players’ Tribune where he made a prophesy that seemed to be, at the time, in jest.
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.
Going into the second leg of a Champions League match down 1-5 against mighty Bayern Munich isn’t ideal. But Theo Walcott and Arsenal got an early goal in the 20th minute that gave them a glimmer of hope.
Not even Neuer could stop that one. Walcott has given Arsenal life! #UCL #ARSFCB https://t.co/OOd8IOTREZ
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.
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.