Phenoms

The Serie A title rice between Derby della Madonnina rivals Internazionale and AC Milan reached a crescendo this weekend when Inter, trailing 2-0 early, scored four straight against Empoli to win 4-2 and establish a one-point lead over Milan ahead of the Rossoneri's difficult away trip to Hellas Verona on Sunday.

Like Inter, Milan played with fire early and went behind in the 38th minute to an excellently worked Verona goal.  

After six weeks out with a knee injury that forced him to miss the USMNT's last window of World Cup qualifying, Brenden Aaronson returned to the pitch with RB Salzburg on Sunday and converted a penalty while his club secured a ninth straight Austrian Bundesliga title with four matches remaining.

Aaronson hadn't played since going the distance in Salzburg's Austrian Cup semifinal win over Wolfsberger on March 16, but he returned to the starting lineup against Austria Wien and lasted 64 minutes.

Rising USWNT star Catarina Macario continued what's arguably been the finest season ever by an American abroad by scoring twice in Lyon's 3-2 first leg Champions League semifinal victory over French rival PSG at Groupama Stadium on Sunday.

Things started poorly for the home side when PSG's Marie-Antoinette Katoto diced Wendie Renard in the area before beating Christiane Endler at her near post in the sixth-minute. 

We're under two months away from the all-important Concacaf U-20 Championship in Honduras, which serves as qualifying for both the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Indonesia and the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 

It's going to be a wild tournament with 20 teams competing — the U.S. is in Group E alongside Canada, Cuba and Saint Kitts and Nevis — but only the semifinalists qualify for the World Cup while the Olympic spots are reserved for the two finalists. 

After starting Thursday's Europa League draw against Eintracht Frankfurt, Xavi used a match against 19th-place Levante to give 19-year-old Pedri and 17-year-old Gavi a rest. That plan lasted less than an hour at the Ciutat de València after Levante took a 52nd-minute lead from the spot through José Morales.

Incredibly, Levante could've gone 2-0 up in the 56th when the home side was awarded another penalty, but Marc-André ter Stegen saved Roger Martí's effort and Xavi immediately replaced Frenkie de Jong with Gavi and Nico González with Pedri.

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Giovanni Reyna has been ruled out for the rest of the season after sustaining a muscle and tendon injury, the Bundesliga club said on Sunday.

The American international played only two minutes against Stuttgart in the league on Friday before being substituted as Dortmund went on to win 2-0 thanks to a double from his replacement Julian Brandt.

Fresh off her mini Twitter feud with Ashlyn Harris — nothing wrong with adding a little spice to the NWSL Challenge Cup group stage — USWNT and Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman had a goal and two assists in her side's 4-1 victory over the Orlando Pride at Audi Field (not some amateur shit high school field) on Sunday.

The Spirit opened the scoring in the 43rd minute after Ashley Hatch left Rodman's low cross into the area for Ashley Sanchez.

BARCELONA - Barcelona's teenage sensation Pedri scored a magnificent goal in the second half to secure a 1-0 win over fading Sevilla on Sunday as they climbed above their opponents into second spot in LaLiga after extending their winning streak to five games.

The 19-year-old Pedri created and scored the winner in a similar style to the trademark goals Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona before leaving to join Paris St-Germain last year.

Last week, Juventus sent shockwaves through Europe with a stunning upset of Lyon in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarterfinal. On Thursday, order was restored in the WoSo world thanks to Catarina Macario turning her Italian defender inside out. 

After scoring in Argentina's 3-0 win over Venezuela in World Cup qualifying Friday night, Lionel Messi's post-match comments made global headlines as the 34-year-old indicated that this might be his last year in international football.