Europe

Odds are that you haven’t yet come down from the high that was Sunday’s El Clasico. A constant back and forth battle was settled by the greatest soccer player of all time (I’m Argentinian, what else can I say) with a decisive strike in the final seconds of the match. 

While the game itself was a peach to watch, its ramifications are far-reaching in terms of who will come away with the La Liga trophy. Barcelona’s win at the death allowed for “¡Hay Liga!” shouts across the world. 

Lionel Messi scored his 500th goal for Barcelona in style, catapulting Barca back into La Liga's title race at the expense of their greatest rivals, Real Madrid. His historic feat is all the more impressive considering that Gerd Muller of Bayern Munich was the last player to score 500 goals for one club. He left Bayern in 1979. 

After Lionel Messi clinched a last-second victory in El Clasico on Sunday with his 500th career goal for Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo threw a fit.

Not sure whether Ronaldo was more annoyed at losing #ElClasico or the fact that Messi took the limelight again. pic.twitter.com/ZgdJerbFpq

Nine goals. Nine. Four goals for Inter, five for Fiorentina. I think it’s fair to say that no one expected that. Elsewhere, Juventus demolished Genoa with four goals and no reply. Expected. Lazio rumbled right over Palermo, going five-nil up in thirty minutes and finishing the game six to one. Expected. Napoli drew two apiece away at Sassuolo. Not that expected, to be honest, but not that shocking. But Fiorentina five, Inter four? That’s a result that makes you sit up and take notice.

According to media reports, the NFL has contributed $12.8 million toward Tottenham Hotspur's new stadium.

The initial payment will  likely go towards custom-tailoring the 61,000-seat stadium for hosting NFL games. Tottenham had agreed to a 10-year deal that allows the NFL to host a minimum of two games per season at the stadium, which is not expected to open until the start of the 2018-19 season.

The man who covers 30 percent of the planet has been named the Professional Footballers Association's (PFA) Player Of the Year. The PFA is a players union that aims to secure players rights in regards to clubs and football institutions from being unethical and or taking advantage of their players. N'Golo Kante's peers and competitors saw him as the most consistent player in England. 

Lionel Messi rightfully earned most of the praise after his extra time goal in Sunday’s El Clasico. But if it weren’t for goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen’s exceptional performance, Barcelona would have likely been out of the game by that point. Ter Stegen made 12 saves, the most by a Barca goalkeeper since 2003-04. 

Ter Stegen vs Real Madrid mdrrr

Cadeau . pic.twitter.com/i9pTfI2YZz

Carli Lloyd’s Champions League ambitions may soon be at an end after Alex Morgan’s Lyon defeated Manchester City 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal. City will now need to travel to the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on April 29 to overturn the large deficit.

City and Lloyd got off to the worst possible start in the opening minutes. An attempted Lyon cross was blocked in the box by Lloyd’s elbow, and the referee immediately pointed to the spot. 

There isn’t a more exhaustive match in the world than El Clasico — it consistently provides high-stakes, supercharged emotions and scintillating football from the world’s best players. It also has the distinction of pitting two clubs that loath one another in a physical, no-holds-barred and often controversial battle between international teammates.

Spain rely so heavily on drawing players from these two club that there’s always that boiling subplot to analyze and critique, especially as we approach another World Cup year. 

Zlatan is injured. We didn't know Zlatan could get injured. We thought he was impervious to harm. We thought he was immortal. We were wrong. Zlatan is injured.

Zlatan is injured so badly it's feared his career could be over. One person, at least, doesn't think Zlatan is anywhere near the finish line. That person is Zlatan.