It’s days like this when you see Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema laugh in the face of Champions League elimination that you truly appreciate how incredible this side was between 2013 and 2018.
Much like the NBA sixth man who comes off the bench and drops straight buckets, Luis Muriel doesn't often find himself in the starting XI; but bring him off the bench in the second half and he can't help but score goals.
Muriel started just 10 Serie A matches last season yet was still Atalanta's joint-leading scorer. The Colombian striker scored 11 of his 18 goals after coming off the bench, averaging goal at an astonishing rate of once every 69 minutes.
Wednesday was a pretty good day for Americans playing for Manchester City in the Champions League. Sam Mewis popped up for a late winner as the women’s team beat Göteborg 2-1. Then Zack Steffen became the third American goalkeeper to start in the men’s UCL when he recorded a clean sheet in a 3-0 win over Marseille.
For the neutral, there could be no victor in Wednesday’s win or go home meeting between Ajax and Atalanta at Johan Cruijff ArenA (although a draw would suffice for the Italian side).
Ajax’s run to the semifinals of the 2018-19 tournament is already the stuff of legend, while Atalanta’s own trip to the quarters last season was just as improbable, and likewise ended in heartbreaking added-time defeat.
Neymar donned a brand spanking new pair of boots made just for him by PUMA on Wednesday. He immediately scored a stunning hat trick against İstanbul Başakşehir. That’s how you justify a $30-million-per-year boot contract.
PSG and İstanbul Başakşehir players walked off the pitch to protest a fourth official’s alleged racist comment toward a Başakşehir assistant coach during their Champions League Group H match on Tuesday. The players refused to resume the match unless the fourth official was not involved, and without sufficient cover (UEFA needed the fourth official to at least help as a VAR), the match was suspended until Wednesday.
One need only look to the recent player acquisitions of the FA Women’s Super League or the formation of Real Madrid Feminino to better understand the shifting nature of the women’s game, but some things simply refuse to change — namely Lyon’s domination of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Lyon is aiming for a sixth straight title this season, and the club’s journey began — as it has every year since the competition’s rebranding in 2009 — with the first leg of the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
The 36th and perhaps final meeting between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ended fittingly at the Camp Nou on Tuesday with Juventus strolling to a 3-0 win against a sad, soft and directionless Barcelona. It’s all too evident why Messi — like Ronaldo before him at Real Madrid — is ready to move on.
All Manchester United needed was a draw against a team it beat by five just two months ago. That was too much to ask and now the Red Devils have crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
RB Leipzig jumped out early and held off a late charge to claim a memorable 3-2 victory at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night to claim its spot in the Round of 16.
Confusion and anger swirled in the Parc des Princes during Paris Saint-Germain’s vital Champions League clash with Istanbul Basaksehir on Tuesday. Viewers watching from home were left Googling and searching on Twitter "why was PSG game suspended?" after watching all of the players exit the field in the first half.
In the 16th minute, Basaksehir’s assistant coach Pierre Webo was shown a straight red card after an argument broke out on the sideline. As Webo was being sent off he could be heard questioning the fourth official on why he used the word “negro.”