England

According to Portuguese media outlet Record, Wolverhampton has agreed to a deal with Benfica and Raúl Jiménez to sign the on-loan striker permanently in the summer.

As soon as the announcers started reminiscing about David de Gea’s 14-save match against Arsenal back in 2017, you knew the Spaniard was either going to do the exact same thing today or get beaten from distance by a strange Granit Xhaka strike. You just knew it.

So when Xhaka took aim and sent a whirly dirly beyond De Gea — leaving the goalkeeper wrong-footed and looking somewhat like that gif of Neymar that’s taken over the internet — you could only smile.  

Wolves nearly stole a win against struggling Chelsea, but a late stoppage time goal from Eden Hazard saved the Blues on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea dominated the ball, possessing it for an incredible 76 percent of the match, but the Wolves defense held strong despite facing 22 shots (six on goal). Wolves managed 47 clearances and 38 tackles, smothering most attacks.

As the away side, Wolves only took two shots, but their counter attack in the 56th minute almost proved too much for Chelsea.

The Second City Derby between Birmingham rivals Aston Villa and Birmingham City was decided by a 67th-minute goal from Villa captain Jack Grealish, who’d earlier been punched in the back of the head by a pitch invader.

In the match’s ninth minute, with the ball in the Birmingham end, a City fan could be seen entering the pitch near the corner flag and hightailing it towards an unsuspecting Grealish.

After landing a punch, he was immediately apprehended and led away by police while blowing kisses to the crowd.  

Tuesday, Frank Lampard’s Derby County recorded a massive 2-1 victory over Wigan Athletic to keep the club in the thick of the English Championship promotion playoff race. Trailing 1-0 with over an hour gone, 22-year-old winger Mason Bennett equalized with a gobsmacking, left-footed overhead flick from about 12 yards out. 

Lampard called it as good as Gareth Bale’s goal in last season’s Champions League final, and it’s an almost certain nominee for the 2019 FIFA Puskás Award (although the winner will ultimately be a tap-in from Mohamed Salah).

Many Americans grew to love Bolton Wanderers when former USMNT midfielder Stuart Holden left the Houston Dynamo for the English Premier League club 10 years ago. But the club hit a new low this week.

Merseyside rivals Everton dealt Liverpool’s Premier League title aspirations a heavy blow on Sunday by frustrating the Reds time after time during a 0-0 stalemate at Goodison Park. 

There are still nine matches remaining in the season, but the draw has handed control back to Manchester City in the title race. The Citizens now have a one-point advantage and control their own destiny. They’ve also won five straight league games, certainly an ominous harbinger for a Liverpool side that’s won only two of its last six. 

Fulham is a disaster right now. No, this is not about the Michael Jackson statue in front of its stadium, but much worse.

The Cottagers spent more than $127 million in the transfer windows this season but sit 19th in the Premier League table and have given up 63 goals. To make things worse the club announced Thursday that it sacked its manager, Claudio Ranieri.