Underdogs

It’s not the Santiago Bernabéu, but nobody goes to the home of Real Madrid (temporarily Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano) and puts three past the 13-time European champions INSIDE 42 MINUTES!

After losing 1-0 to Cádiz last Saturday, many predicted a performance of pure vengeance from Los Blancos in the Champions League — a feeling that was amplified by the fact that Shakhtar’s starting lineup was rocked by a combination of injury and illness, including a positive coronavirus test for star forward Júnior Moraes.

A strange weekend in LaLiga that included defeats for both Real Madrid (1-0 to Cádiz) and Barcelona (1-0 to Getafe) ended with Real Sociedad at the top of the table following a 3-0 win over Real Betis at the Benito Villamarín on Sunday. 

Sociedad showed promise last season by advancing to the Copa del Rey final and finishing sixth in the league (the club’s highest standing in seven years), but the return of Martin Ødegaard to Real Madrid and transfer of Diego Llorente to Leeds United seemed like big losses — even with David Silva arriving from Manchester City on a free transfer.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Fool me three times, shame on both of us. Questions are being asked of defenses around the Premier League right now, but Tottenham is firmly at the root of the inquisition.   

Sheffield United and Fulham picked up their first point each of the Premier League campaign after a cagey 1-1 draw at Bramall Lane on Sunday.

Despite being dominated in the first half, it was Fulham who took the lead in the 77th minute through Ademola Lookman. But United kept up the pressure and leveled the tie in the 85th from the penalty spot through Billy Sharp.

Tough COVID-19 restrictions have cast a pre-winter gloom across Merseyside but at least Everton supporters have something to lift their spirits after their side's storming start to the Premier League season.

On Saturday Carlo Ancelotti's table-toppers host champions Liverpool at Goodison Park flushed with a rare sense of superiority over their Mersey rivals. Everton boast the only 100% record in the Premier League from teams that have played four games, are averaging three goals per game and in Dominic Calvert-Lewin have the division's joint-leading scorer.

A beautiful aspect of international football is that it allows you to sample the vibe of a far-flung locale from the comfort of your own living room. Today, I took a trip to Riga, Latvia, to watch a UEFA Nations League D Group 1 meeting between the host nation and visiting Malta.

With Faroe Islands pacing the group on seven points from three matches, this was effectively a must-win game for both 137th-ranked Latvia (three points off three draws) and 186th-ranked Malta (two points). 

Francesco Caputo was thrilled to finally pull on an Italy shirt at the age 33 but there was also a tinge of regret at what might have been after a career spent largely in the lower divisions of Italian football.

The Sassuolo forward became Italy's second-oldest debutant when he started Wednesday's friendly against Moldova and needed only 23 minutes to score his first international goal in the 6-0 win.