association-football Page 21 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Please don’t be an illusion, Daryl Dike

It’s been a few weeks of conflicting emotions for USMNT fans. Which I suppose is a slight improvement on just total dread, sorrow, and Cure makeup, the usual state in which we find ourselves. Take our victories where we can find them, I guess....

Bayern Munich did that thing again

It was at the same point last season, though not in the calendar thanks to the pandemic, that this happened. Less than 10 games left in the season, Bayern Munich facing an away date against their closest rival and looking … well, vulnerable is too strong a word. Less godly, let’s say. The chasing te...

Sergio Aguero, Manchester City’s last through-line

There’s little point in talking about Sergio Aguero without talking about this goal, so let’s get to it at the top:...

The Pulisic, the bad, and the ugly of USMNT’s up-and-down weekend

It was a mixed day for USMNT fans Sunday. Then again every day pretty much is. The afternoon saw the full squad win their first game in Europe against a European team in five years, beating Northern Ireland 2-1. Yeah, it was Northern Ireland. Yeah, it was Northern Ireland’s B-team. Still, Christian ...

The USWNT’s fight for equal pay is still kind of nebulous

Yesterday, Megan Rapinoe and Margaret Purce met with President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. Afterward, both Rapinoe and Purce met with the press. As always, Rapinoe was forthright, cutting, insightful, and funny. None of what comes next is to argue against Rapinoe being anything less than a ...

Celtic, Rangers are unlikely duo to show that kneeling has outlived usefulness in Euro soccer

The debate over players kneeling right before kickoff in soccer games across Europe started almost before they started doing it last summer. On one side were those who said it was worth the symbolism and regular reminders that the fight is A) everyone’s, and B) ongoing, even if these kinds of thing...

USMNT finally gets an important win with Yunus Musah

The November friendlies against Wales and Panama could have been the biggest tease ever. They kind of felt like that at the time. It was the first time the US had called together only European-based players, which is what a lot of fans had been clamoring for. After all, who didn’t have fatigue of wa...

Erik Lamela scores perfect Erik Lamela goal [Updated]

One of the features of being a devoted supporter of a team is developing a love for a player that the outer world doesn’t really understand or appreciate. It’s something you can pick up only when you watch your team every game, to witness the nuances and habits of everyone that those who only drop i...

Porto score from Narnia to beat Old Lady

I’ve been dreaming of doing one of these “Old Lady” headlines ever since I started here, so thank you for coming on this journey with me....

Christian Pulisic <i>still</i> isn’t starting for Chelsea

There’s a little anxiety brewing in London for USMNT fans. Christian Pulisic once again didn’t start in Chelsea’s match yesterday against Everton. Just like he’s failed to in every match since new manager Thomas Tuchel took over. He hasn’t started a match in two months. ...

COVID could make next FIFA international window a bigger mess than usual

The club vs. country fight is a long and storied one in soccer, with clubs always more than a little peeved about releasing the players they’re paying millions to travel to different training schedules and medical staffs, for games they aren’t compensated for. Players getting hurt on national team d...

Is it bad that Barça’s CEO, lawyer, and former president got arrested?

This week on “What’s Gone Wrong At Barcelona Now?” we watch current and former execs go to the can!...

The Lakers proved they’re not roadkill, and LeBron reminded Zlatan who the hell he is

They’re going to be juuust fine. ...

Has boring-ass La Liga replaced previous snoozefest Serie A?

It wasn’t a terribly good couple of weeks for La Liga teams in the Champions League. Barcelona got ritually sacrificed by Kylian Mbappe and PSG. Sevilla got an even bigger foot in their ass from Dortmund. Atletico Madrid, the current leader in La Liga, were held at arm’s length by Chelsea and lost 1...

SEE IT: Olivier Giroud scores everyone’s backyard goal with bicycle kick

Boy, did this match need this. Today’s Champions League round-of-16 first leg between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid was a chore. Atletico can always be that, as their identity for the past decade has been to be defiantly, sneeringly obstinate. Chelsea are still finding their feet under new manager Tho...

How many workers must die before FIFA moves World Cup?

Romelu Lukaku is the best striker in the world

Few fixtures suffer from the lack of fans more than the Milan derby, especially this latest iteration. A split stadium, 80,000 fans baying for blood and justice, tifos galore, all in service to a top of the table contest, it would have been an epic occasion. Inter Milan came into this leading Serie ...

SEE IT: Surprising goal is why you don’t ever sleep on Sunderland

It’s still a long way back to the Premier League for Sunderland, the club whose fall from the top flight to the third tier of English soccer was chronicled in the Netflix documentary Sunderland ’Til I Die....

It only takes Juventus a minute to give up the dumbest goal

It hasn’t been a vintage season for Juventus, who look like they might surrender the Serie A title for the first time in 10 years. Their pursuit of the Champions League the past few years has moved beyond obsession, which led them to pay $120 million for Christiano Ronaldo a few years ago. That has ...

Kylian Mbappé ends Barcelona as we know it with hat trick

There really isn’t a better wielder of the axe that struck the final blow on this era of Barcelona than Kylian Mbappé and his three-goal night. While it’s been Lionel Messi’s world for so long, any minute now it’s going to be Mbappé’s to do with how he sees fit. That is, if it isn’t already....