There’s something about Ángel Di María that changes when Neymar isn’t in the lineup with him for PSG. For whatever reason, the Argentine seems to take his play to another level when he’s the lead creative force.
Di María started against Nice without names like Neymar, Edinson Cavani or Kylian Mbappé alongside him on Friday. Those superstars weren’t needed, because Di María provided two magnificent goals early on in PSG’s 4-1 win.
It’s been exactly 15 years to the day since Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini hopped off the bench in the 82nd minute of Barcelona’s 1-0 derby victory over Espanyol to mark his LaLiga debut. The 17-year-old replaced midfield maestro Deco and gave a tantalizing glimpse of what was to come.
What followed, in league play, is currently 453 more appearances, 420 goals, 164 assists and 10 titles. You could say that things have gone well.
Following a 9-0 beatdown of San Marino on Thursday, Belgium became the first nation to book its place at next summer’s European Championship. Today, the Red Devils maintained their 100 percent record in Euro 2020 qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over Kazakhstan in Nur-Sultan.
As the world’s top-ranked side, Belgium boasts an embarrassment of attacking riches. After netting goals 50 and 51 for the national team against San Marino, striker Romelu Lukaku was rested against Kazakhstan, but it was his replacement, Michy Batshuayi, who opened the scoring in the 21st minute.
Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City played to a 0-0 draw to open the A-League campaign on Saturday, but it was a goal that was was called back that drew our attention.
Elvis Kamsoba, a 23-year-old Burundi international who has already played for six different clubs, thought he had scored his first A-League goal in the 56th minute for Victory. Played in brilliantly by former Sweden international Ola Toivonen, Kamsoba slid his first-time shot past onrushing keeper Dean Bouzanis.
Sunday marked the 21st time in Luis Suárez’s six-year Barcelona career that he’d hammered a ball flush in the air — be it a volley, scissor or overhead kick — and into the back of the net. Frankly, there’s no one better on the planet with this demanding technique. Here’s that strike against Sevilla.
If you were busy and couldn't catch the last seven months of the MLS season, here’s what you missed: LAFC and NYCFC crushed it, Cincinnati did the opposite and everyone else was more or less the same, which is why 60 percent of teams make the playoffs. You also missed some fiendishly good goals and saves.
Not to worry: MLS released its nominees for both the AT&T Goal of the Year and the Allstate Save of the Year on Wednesday.
Club Brugge came within five minutes of recording a historic upset of 13-time European champion Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu on Tuesday, but the Belgian side ultimately had to settle for a 2-2 draw after a late equalizer from Casemiro.
Regardless, the story of the game will be the first-half brace scored by Club Brugge’s Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis.
It’s been nearly three years since the LaMia Flight 2933 disaster claimed the lives of 71 people, including 19 members of the Chapecoense soccer team. Of the six surviving passengers of the flight, three were Chapecoense players: goalkeeper Jakson Follmann, center back Neto and left back Alan Ruschel.
This was not a Madrid Derby to remember. Players like João Félix, Eden Hazard and Kieran Trippier received their first taste of the capital-city clasico, but none were able to make much of an imprint in a 0-0 draw between Real and Atlético Madrid on Saturday at the Wanda.
Atleti keeper Jan Oblak was probably the best player on the pitch, making a couple great saves on Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema. But Real Madrid’s offensive forays were summed up most appropriately by an effort from Gareth Bale in the 57th minute.