Over in Europe today, PSG strolled to victory, Juventus again won it at the death, and Tottenham and Liverpool flexed their collective muscle against relegation candidates. While it was all too predictable in the world’s premier competitions, Major League Soccer kicked off its 23rd season with the #SaveTheCrew taking it to the reigning Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup champions, Toronto FC.
The FC Porto vs Sporting Lisbon match finished 2-1 in favor of the host Dragons, who won despite a howler from Iker Casillas. But more so than the three goals that were scored, the highlight of the match came from Porto’s medical staff in the 60th minute.
Porto scored an important win over Sporting thanks to goals from Iván Marcano and Yacine Brahimi. The Dragons are now eight points clear of Sporting and Benfica atop the Liga Nos standings, though Benfica has a game in hand.
Marcano opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a header following a corner kick.
On paper, this is one of the more shocking upsets you’ll ever see in the CONCACAF Champions League. FC Dallas joined the Colorado Rapids as victims of the CCL Round of 16, leaving just Seattle and NYRB as the only remaining American representatives. But while Colorado’s defeat to Toronto FC was widely expected, Dallas’ plummet from grace continues to be a free fall.
Antoine Griezmann is simply unstoppable. He is such a complete player. He is good at dribbling and has remarkable accuracy both with his feet and head.
Moreover, he always seems to be in the right moment and place to score.
No wonder the major powerhouses in world football are rumored to be chasing after him every transfer window.
Griezman's outstanding form is also a reason for French fans to feel hopeful as the World Cup draws near.
With all due respect to Juventus supporters, as exciting as it would be to watch you lift your seventh straight Scudetto, the entire planet is behind Napoli’s push for their first title since 1990, when Diego Maradona lifted the Neapolitan club to glory. On Monday, we were given further evidence as to why Napoli is essentially In-N-Out Burger when comparing football clubs to restaurant chains (hell, there’s even a Neapolitan shake on The Secret Menu).
Look what you’ve done, Pep, Sergio and Vincent. Your unparalleled skills and ruthless execution have induced tears from a youngster. Are you proud of yourselves? It was bad enough you turned an entertaining Carabao Cup final into a boring rout, but the indelible image of the match will be of a crying child at the merciless destruction of his beloved Arsenal.
Romelu Lukaku has been criticized this year for not scoring against the top clubs. He went a long way toward diminishing that reputation by supplying a goal and an assist for Manchester United vs Chelsea in a 2-1 victory for the Red Devils on Sunday at Old Trafford.
Like a good band, Barcelona played all the hits in their 6-1 demolition of Girona on Saturday, surely a treat for anyone seeing them live for the first time (I hate you Bryce I hate you so much).
They opened with Lionel Messi assisting Luis Suarez:
Fred (No not that Fred. The other Fred. The good Fred.) set Shakhtar Donetsk down the path toward Champions League quarterfinal qualification with a well-placed free kick that gave Shakhtar a 2-1 victory over Roma. The second leg is still to be played of course, and Roma have an away goal, but let's not think about such things right now because all the focus should be on Fred's goal.
It takes something special to beat Roma goalkeeper Alisson when he's on his game, and Fred's goal absolutely qualifies as something special.
“It’s like playing in f*cking Siberia,” said a Toronto FC player entering the pitch before Tuesday night’s CONCACAF Champions League Round of 16 first leg against the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City. The coldest MLS game on record was last season’s “Snow Opener” between Minnesota United and Atlanta United in Minneapolis, which checked in at 19° F.