WTF

Manchester United put their worries to one side to frustrate Premier League leaders Chelsea with a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as Jadon Sancho scored a breakaway goal that was cancelled out by a Jorginho penalty.

Chelsea, under pressure after Manchester City and Liverpool both won earlier over the weekend, were dominant against a United side playing their first Premier League match under caretaker manager Michael Carrick after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's sacking last weekend.

LISBON - Benfica's Primeira Liga match at Belenenses on Saturday was abandoned amid extraordinary scenes after their COVID-19-hit opponents were forced to name a team of nine players — including two goalkeepers.

Benfica took advantage of their numerical superiority to rack up seven goals by halftime before Belenenses returned with only seven players for the second period.

What if I told you Qatar hired an ex-CIA officer to run a spy campaign to ensure the tiny but wealthy Middle Eastern country won and held on to the hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup? Yeah, that sounds pretty believable.

Back when allegations first arose against former NWSL coach Paul Riley’s sexual coercion and verbal abuse, I made a timeline of all the women’s soccer coaches and staff in America who had been fired, resigned or were otherwise accused of some sort of abuse. Even then I said there were probably more cases out there that hadn’t been reported upon yet. Sadly, it looks like I was right. 

Bayern Munich suffered a surprising 2-1 defeat to Augsburg on Friday, in part a result of the team’s lethargic performance but also because a growing number of players have been forced to quarantine under Covid-19 regulations. Now it seems unvaccinated Bayern players will be losing more than playing time.

PARIS — Repeated crowd problems in Ligue 1 are putting the future of French soccer at risk, French Sports Minister Roxana Maracineanu said after Sunday's game between Olympique Lyonnais and Olympique Marseille was abandoned due to fan violence.

The disciplinary commission of the French League (LFP) on Monday said that Lyon would play their Ligue 1 home games behind closed doors until it rules on the incident on Dec. 8 after an investigation.

BERLIN — Werder Bremen coach Markus Anfang has denied using a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate after an investigation was launched by German authorities, the club said.

Werder, playing in Germany's second division this season, said an investigation was under way but the coach had denied allegations he used a fake certificate following a meeting with club bosses late on Thursday evening.

"On Thursday evening the management of SV Werder Bremen was informed of an ongoing investigation into an alleged use of a forged vaccination certificate by Markus Anfang," Werder said.