Goals

Raúl Ruidíaz and Joevin Jones each had two goals and two assists and the defending MLS Cup champion Seattle Sounders scored four times in the opening 20 minutes en route to a 7-1 victory against the visiting San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday night.

Jordan Morris had a goal and three assists, and Kelvin Leerdam and João Paulo also scored for the Sounders (5-2-3, 18 points), who moved into first place in the Western Conference. Seattle extended its unbeaten streak against San Jose to 11 consecutive regular-season matches (6-0-5) dating to 2015.

Aided by fixture congestion, muscle injuries and domestic cup competitions turned into academy exercises, the 2020-21 season figures to be the year of the 15-year-old. 

On the one hand you’ve got Borussia Dortmund phenom Youssoufa Moukoko — although he won’t be able to play in the Bundesliga until turning 16 on Nov. 20 — and on the other you’ve got Grimsby Town’s Louis Boyd.

After missing Portugal’s 4-1 victory over Croatia on Saturday due to a toe infection caused from a bee sting, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the starting 11 on Tuesday against Sweden and showed off his newly acquired flying insect superpowers.

Sitting on 99 international goals, Ronaldo buzzed over a free kick in the 45th-minute before unleashing a venomous, right-footed stinger into the top corner.  

After beginning the season 0-2-3, the Los Angeles Galaxy have turned it on and scorched everyone in their path with four consecutive victories, the latest victim being LAFC.

Two weeks after the Galaxy blanked LAFC 2-0 for the first cleansheet effort for either side in El Tráfico history, goalkeeper David Bingham registered another shutout on Sunday, his second of the season.

After a scoreless first half, Galaxy forward Cristian Pavón chipped an easy one over LAFC keeper Pablo Sisniega, who got stuck over-extending himself in the 51st minute.  

Norway beat Northern Ireland 5-1 in their Nations League match on Monday with Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland leading the charge with two goals and an assist in Belfast.

Mohamed Elyounoussi gave Norway the lead in the second minute but, after Paddy McNair equalised, Haaland got the goal of the game with an emphatic half-volley from the edge of the box that had keeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell rooted to the spot.

Germany were still waiting for their first-ever Nations League win after they gave a tired performance and were held to a 1-1 draw by Switzerland on Sunday.

Ilkay Gundogan gave Joachim Loew's side the perfect start with a clinical goal in the 14th minute but Silvan Widmer earned their smaller neighbors a deserved draw just before the hour. In the end, Germany may have been grateful for the result in the League A Group 4 game as the much livelier hosts, unbeaten in their last 17 competitive matches at home, created the better chances.

Last Thursday, 17-year-old Barcelona phenom Ansu Fati was handed his first Spain appearance as a second-half substitute during a 1-1 draw with Germany. On Sunday, Fati was given his second cap and first-ever start as Spain welcomed Ukraine to the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in Madrid.

If you’re wondering what all the fuss is about, here’s the La Masia graduate’s opening 45 minutes.

When Arjen Robben announced his retirement last year at the age of 35, the world bid goodbye to an outrageously talented winger whose troublesome injury history appeared to have finally extinguished his desire to continue.

One of the finest talents of his generation, Robben certainly wasn’t made of glass — you don’t amass 96 Holland caps sitting in the recovery room — but only once did appear in more than 30 league matches in a single season, and that happened back in 2002-03 with PSV.

Jordan Morris scored twice 61 seconds apart early in the second half as the host Seattle Sounders pulled away to defeat Los Angeles Football Club 3-1 Sunday night.

Raúl Ruidíaz scored at the 11-minute mark before being replaced because of a heel contusion at halftime for the defending MLS Cup champion Sounders (4-1-2, 14 points), who moved into second place in the Western Conference, two points behind Sporting Kansas City.

Aron Jóhannsson kept up his good form in the Allsvenskan with a brace in Hammarby's 3-3 draw against Kalmar on Sunday.

After a long run of injuries stretching back several seasons, the USMNT forward has gotten consistent playing time in Sweden over the last couple of months and has reaped the benefits. Since the beginning of the 2014-15 season, Jóhannsson has missed over 100 games due to injury. Since late July, though, he has featured in every game for seventh-place Hammarby and scored four goals in the club's last six games.