Game Recaps

Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino love playing against Arsenal. In a back-and-forth match between the two teams on Wednesday, it was those two men who once again who scored as the Reds moved to within a point of league-leading Manchester City.

Jota scored with his final touch of the game and Firmino tallied eight minutes later as Liverpool won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium. Jota has seven goals in seven games against Arsenal with Liverpool; Roberto Firmino’s nine league goals against the Gunners are the most of any Reds player. 

Benfica pulled off a smash-and-grab victory in Amsterdam on Tuesday defeating a much better-looking Ajax side 1-0 to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals winning 3-2 on aggregate.

If you watched the game on Paramount+ then you also suffered an unbearable 90 minutes where the audio was about one second ahead of the video on screen. One second doesn’t sound like a whole lot, but it becomes very apparent while watching.

They're not finished. They're still two of the planet's best footballers and will battle for the game's biggest prizes over the next few years, but it's clear now that the 2021-22 season marks a personal decline for both Lionel Messi and Cristiano that's indicative of life as a professional athlete in your mid to late thirties. 

For Messi, it'll be the first time in 14 years that he doesn't surpass 30 goals across all competitions. He's at seven with just 10 matches remaining. 

Vinícius Júnior's transformation this season has been well documented. The 21-year-old is now one of LaLiga's finest finishers and far more efficient in the final third, while his combination play with Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema from Real's left-hand side makes for some of the most exciting viewing in football.

Reigning MLS MVP Carles Gil didn't hide his feelings after the New England Revolution dropped a 3-2 decision to visiting Real Salt Lake in snowy conditions on Saturday in Foxborough, Mass.

Heavy snow fell in the first half before windy conditions became more prevalent in the second. New England saw a 2-0 lead evaporate after the bottom fell out in the second half. Real Salt Lake halved the deficit in the 78th minute, forged a tie in the 88th minute and pulled ahead in stoppage time.

Gil, the Revolution's captain, wasn't at a loss for words after the match.

24 matches played, 24 matches won, 136 goals scored, six conceded and one Primera División title secured with six games still remaining. There's no stopping Barcelona Femení in Spain now after the team's 5-0 beatdown of Real Madrid at Estadi Johan Cruyff on Sunday, and it'll again be Real Madrid that's tasked with stopping Barça in Europe when the two sides square off in the Champions League quarterfinals later this month.

LONDON - Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko and Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals scored a goal each as West Ham defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at home on Sunday, ending Steven Gerrard's side's run of three consecutive wins in the Premier League.

Yarmolenko had been granted compassionate leave after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month and then fell ill, missing West Ham's 1-0 Europa League loss in Seville on Thursday.

LEEDS, England - Joe Gelhardt came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner for Leeds United as they snatched a thrilling 2-1 home victory over fellow strugglers Norwich City in a pulsating Premier League clash on Sunday.

Leeds looked to have thrown away three vital points in the battle for relegation when Kenny McLean fired home Teemu Pukki's pass in the 91st minute, but Gelhardt spared their blushes in a game the hosts should have won comfortably.