English Clubs

Romelu Lukaku’s 69th minute header proved to be the difference in Chelsea’s 1-0 Champions League opener against Zenit on Tuesday. The Chelsea vs. Zenit highlights saw the defending champs frustrated by a feisty Russian side for most of the game.

Zenit’s defense dug its heels into the ground and dared the Blues to try and get past. I’m willing to bet that if Chelsea had the same squad as last season, then this match would have ended in a draw. That’s not the case when a player like Lukaku roams in the opposition’s box.

With Villarreal and Atalanta lying in wait, Manchester United travelled to Swiss Super League champion Young Boys knowing that three points was vital against the side 30 places beneath them in UEFA’s club coefficient. 

All eyes were on Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s team after the manager again fielded the exciting quartet of Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Paul Pogba that’d decimated Newcastle on Saturday.

After going 35 Premier League games without a goal, Andros Townsend — reunited at last with Rafa Benítez at Everton — scored the sort of goal that only Andros Townsend can produce. It was a beautifully shaped 25-yard effort that was equal parts violence and precision, and the go-ahead strike in Everton’s 3-1 win over Burnley on Monday night. 

With 10 points from four games (good for fourth in the table) and Townsend already scoring one and creating two, Benítez is quickly winning over Goodison Park with his decision-making.

Cristiano Ronaldo finalized his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United on the final day of the 2021 summer transfer window, bringing an end to a three-year spell with the Old Lady and returning him to Old Trafford, where Ronaldo spent six superlative seasons between 2003 and 2009. The Cristiano Ronaldo Manchester United contract salary, despite now being 36 years of age, speaks to how prolific and valuable the forward still remains at the highest level.  

The schools of Jürgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa clashed on Sunday in one of the holiest unions you’ll ever see between action and setting with Elland Road roaring on an end-to-end match on a balmy Sunday afternoon in West Yorkshire.

Leeds never fails to catch the eye — Kalvin Phillips might be the most underrated footballer in the Premier League, and Raphinha is an absolute spectacle — but Liverpool exudes a level of control in high-octane matches that’s unmatched.

LONDON — Arsenal moved off the bottom of the Premier League standings and scored their first goal of the campaign after captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's scrambled 66th-minute effort gave them a 1-0 home win over Norwich City on Saturday.

The result lifted Arsenal to 16th place on three points from four games and left Norwich, who are still looking for their first point of the season, propping up the table.

Manchester United is filthy. Filthy filthy filthy. The Red Devils defeated Newcastle 4-1 on Saturday in a wildly entertaining match that featured the homecoming of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Old Trafford gave the warmest of welcomes to Ronaldo who started his first game for Manchester United in over a decade.

"NUMBER SEVEN, CRISTIANO RONALDO!"

The noise inside Old Trafford as Ronaldo's name is announced in Manchester United's starting XI pic.twitter.com/fivRej0qs5