Highlights

Liverpool moved into third place in the Premier League with a scintillating victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby. Sadio Mane, Philippe Coutinho and Divock Origi struck for the home side while Matthew Pennington scored the lone Everton goal in Liverpool’s 3-1 victory.

Mane opened the scoring in the 8th-minute with a fantastic solo effort, driving past defenders before striking a low shot into the corner — his 13th league goal of the campaign. 

Bundesliga also-rans Hoffenheim and Hertha met in a battle pitting fourth and fifth in the German top division. Hoffenheim would ultimately win 3-1, climbing above Borussia Dortmund and into third in the table — only 14 points behind Bayern Munich.

The match featured two must-watch but starkly contrasting goals. Peter Pekarik opened the scoring for Hertha after a truly bizarre assist from Alexander Esswein. It was just an awful mis-hit, but that stupid cliche they all count the same.

Andros Townsend’s decision to leave Newcastle United after their relegation still doesn’t sit well with me. He was a poor man’s Arjen Robben, but that’s no bad thing. If he’s on the right, he’s cutting inside and he’s unleashing a left-footed shot that’s flying into the corner. At least that’s what happened during his 13 games at Newcastle.

Along with the rest of the Crystal Palace team he’s been awful this season. It’s hard to pinpoint where it’s gone wrong, but no it isn’t. Alan Pardew was the manager.

The United States’ recent match against Panama conjured memories of one of the greatest performances by any American in World Cup qualifying. Eddie Johnson, then just 20 years old, took his total to four goals in only two international appearances by scoring a hat trick against Panama in only seventeen-minutes back in 2004.

Lost in all the column inches about Lionel Messi’s four-match ban, Argentina’s horrific performance in their 2-0 defeat to Bolivia and their subsequent falling to fifth-place in CONMEBOL qualifying was the passing of the belt to Bolivia in the Unofficial Football World Championships.

After three straight World Cups of the “Brazilian way” appearing to be nothing more than a fabricated lie engineered by Nike to sell more shoes or a conveniently easy Brazil pregame special for Fox Sports’ Rob Stone, the Brazilian creed of joga bonito is suddenly back in its full glory.

Brazil have become the second side to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, alongside hosts Russia. A team in the CONMEBOL region punching their ticket with over a year to go before the finals, and with four matches still remaining in qualifying, is heinous.

It’s difficult to quantify what exactly has gone down here in Panama City. For one, some sensational work from 18-year-old Christian Pulisic gave the United States a 1-0 advantage. However, Panama went straight back at the other end to equalize, making the scores level at 1-1 after 45.

Here’s what we do know: Clint Dempsey is now one goal shy of Landon Donovan’s all-time mark for the United States. Christian Pulisic is the best 18-year-old in the history of the CONCACAF region. We’ve got a feisty one in Panama City. The second half promises to be a classic.

Mexico took hold of the Hex with a controversial 1-0 victory over Trinidad and Tobago at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain. Mexico had opportunities to add to their total, but the Soca Warriors will be aggrieved to have had a first half goal incorrectly chalked off for offside.