It’s days like this when you see Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema laugh in the face of Champions League elimination that you truly appreciate how incredible this side was between 2013 and 2018.
For the neutral, there could be no victor in Wednesday’s win or go home meeting between Ajax and Atalanta at Johan Cruijff ArenA (although a draw would suffice for the Italian side).
Ajax’s run to the semifinals of the 2018-19 tournament is already the stuff of legend, while Atalanta’s own trip to the quarters last season was just as improbable, and likewise ended in heartbreaking added-time defeat.
One need only look to the recent player acquisitions of the FA Women’s Super League or the formation of Real Madrid Feminino to better understand the shifting nature of the women’s game, but some things simply refuse to change — namely Lyon’s domination of the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Lyon is aiming for a sixth straight title this season, and the club’s journey began — as it has every year since the competition’s rebranding in 2009 — with the first leg of the Round of 32 on Wednesday.
The Millwall miscreants that call themselves fans made headlines over the weekend for booing the players who kneeled before kickoff ahead of the club's match against Derby County.
Their racist demonstration against the Black Lives Matter movement was a frustrating event that overshadowed the return of fans to English football grounds.
The display did not go unnoticed to players around the league.
The 36th and perhaps final meeting between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo ended fittingly at the Camp Nou on Tuesday with Juventus strolling to a 3-0 win against a sad, soft and directionless Barcelona. It’s all too evident why Messi — like Ronaldo before him at Real Madrid — is ready to move on.
All Manchester United needed was a draw against a team it beat by five just two months ago. That was too much to ask and now the Red Devils have crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.
RB Leipzig jumped out early and held off a late charge to claim a memorable 3-2 victory at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night to claim its spot in the Round of 16.
Of all the phenomenons we’ve covered over the last six years — Christian Pulisic’s tender years, Martin Ødegaard’s journey of the Prodigal Son, Alphonso Davies meep meep — Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko stands out as the most prodigious.
Sometimes, the stars align. You have the most beautiful day of your life followed by the administration of some public justice, and then you get to play a Minnesota sports team in the playoffs. That’s a recipe for greatness, and the Seattle Sounders’ Will Bruin followed it to a T.
On Nov. 23, Bruin and his wife Caitlin had their second baby. The 31-year-old forward was on Seattle’s bench the next day during the Sounders’ Round of 16 triumph over LAFC.
Santos and LDU Quito faced each other in an electrifying Copa Libertadores Round of 16 match, in which Santos managed to advance to the quarterfinals after scoring more away goals. The first leg, held in Quito, was very evenly matched and tough for both, but Santos achieved a great result by scoring two goals while their opponent's only got one at home.