You know what they say, ridiculous backheel flicks usually come in threes. This past weekend, we were treated to three outlandish finishes of the tacquito sauce variety — one in Amsterdam, one in Nuevo León and one in Poland.
Let’s take a look at all three in descending order.
#3. Kasper Dolberg (Ajax vs. NAC Breda)
In the lead-up to Manchester City’s fifth-round FA Cup match with Newport County, Pep Guardiola said his team of superstars would “suffer” against a team in 15th place in EFL League Two.
Just before the match, Newport coach Michael Flynn told Guardiola he is a “genius.”
"It's a pleasure to see you, you're an absolute genius."
Tyler Adams is one of those unfortunate souls to have been born on a holiday. He celebrated his 20th birthday on Thursday, Valentine’s Day, perhaps with his German-but-not-really-German girlfriend the Leipzig press is way too interested in.
Though he just turned 20, he’s quickly become an integral part of the Bundesliga’s fourth-placed team. On Saturday, he played the full 90 minutes in midfield for the fourth time since joining the club in January.
The Video Assistant Referee is in use in the Champions League Round of 16 for the first time this week. So of course conspiracy theorists are already hard at work trying to figure out the Ajax disallowed goal that helped Real Madrid grab a 2-1 away win in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 on Wednesday.
UEFA, thankfully, is smarter than the English FA and decided to start using VAR for the Champions League in the Round of 16 instead of waiting for next season. The first two matches Tuesday were without controversy and the VAR was not required.
For all the talk of wingers Christian Pulisic and Jadon Sancho heading into Borussia Dortmund’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium Wembley Stadium, it was a Tottenham center back for who provided the game-changing moments from out wide.
This story should be about another tactical masterclass from Rafa Benitez or the staggeringly good form of 21-year-old midfielder Sean Longstaff or the brief but spirited cameo from record signing Miguel Almirón, but instead it’s about a ridiculous bit of goalkeeping from the usually excellent Martin Dúbravka.
Newcastle traveled to the Molineux on Monday night sitting above the drop zone on goal difference. With Wolves flying high in seventh, this match represented a daunting fixture for Benitez’s men.
At this point I have to ask: Why is Wisconsin such a hotbed for American soccer overachievers? Jay DeMerit, the man from Green Bay, showed us all how it could be done, and now we have Andrija Novakovich, from Muskego, chalking up goals in the Dutch Eredivisie.
I’m not mad, I just think it’s sad that Wisconsin is leading the way — this shouldn’t be their burden to bear.
POLITICS
Whoever comes through the Real Madrid-Barcelona matchup will be the favorite in the 2019 Copa del Rey Final, but if you didn’t know, that match is being staged at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville, home of Real Betis, and the Béticos are using that inspiration to power through the competition.
There’s always more to like about AFC Bournemouth: the 11,329-capacity Dean Court; cherubic 10-year-old boy whiz manager Eddie Howe; the fact that the club was in the fourth division as recently as 2010 but now sits comfortably in 10th during its fourth consecutive season in the Premier League (following on finishes of 16th, 9th and 12th).
Just like David Silva’s hair transplant, Manchester City is growing and on top and oh god this metaphor. But City returned to the summit of the Premier League with the sort of balls to the wall 2-0 win that Liverpool is suddenly incapable of.
Liverpool fans — taking a break from crucifying Naby Keita for the 970 minutes of PL football he’s played — immediately turned their attention to crucifying Everton fans for potentially wanting to lose to City today to thwart their rival’s title aspirations.