Europe

We’ve watched this Emi Martínez save vs. Forest 10 times and we’re still not sure how he did it

Aston Villa will be disappointed with their 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, however an unbelievable Emiliano Martínez save was one big highlight they can smile about.

In the 60th minute with the score tied at 0-0 Martínez seemingly broke the laws of physics with an unreal save. Nottingham Forest’s Nicolás Domínguez thought for certain he’d scored the opening goal with a close-range header but was denied by the paw of Martínez.

Emi Martínez save vs Forest

Pep Guardiola says teams need 45-50 players in order to keep up with number of games

MANCHESTER — Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola blames the congested fixture schedule for the injuries that have ravaged his struggling team this season, saying he needs a squad of 45 or 50 players to weather the storm.

Saying City are in survival mode, Guardiola added he could have just three defenders available when they host Manchester United in Sunday's derby at Etihad Stadium, another blow to their dwindling hopes of retaining their Premier League title.

They are fourth in the table and have just one victory to show for their last 10 games across all competitions.

Brighton demand that lower-tier Croatian copycat club change their crest

A third-tier Croatian club have ruffled the feathers of Premier League side Brighton and Hove Albion due to having a VERY similar looking crest. NK Jadran Galeb compete in Croatia and adopted a familiar look for the club’s logo.

The story gets funnier. Allegedly a member of the Croatian club visited the Brighton offices in England and informed them of the similarity between the clubs. The person in question then metaphorically swung for the fences and asked if Brighton would donate to NK Jadran Galeb in the form of equipment.

Leeds United fans cry and whine after Weston McKennie speaks about his time in Leeds

Weston McKennie is on Cloud 9 after scoring a fabulous scissor kick goal against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. His biggest haters, Leeds United fans, appear to be in shambles on social media.

After Wednesday's game McKennie did an interview with CBS and was asked by Micah Richards about his loan spell with Leeds United.

Watch: Man Utd overcome another wild André Onana mistake to defeat Viktoria Plzen 2-1

PLZEN — Manchester United learned lessons from their bland first half at Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday and sped up the action in the second period, allowing them to get a 2-1 win, coach Ruben Amorim said.

Forward Rasmus Hojlund scored twice in the second half to allow United to come back from a goal down at six-times Czech champions Plzen for their third consecutive European win.

Kylian Mbappé set to miss more time with Real Madrid after latest thigh injury

Real Madrid's French forward Kylian Mbappé has been diagnosed with an injury to his left thigh, the LaLiga club said on Thursday, making him a doubt for next week's FIFA Intercontinental Cup final.

Mbappé was replaced during the first half of Real's 3-2 win at Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday, having given his side the lead with a 10th minute goal.

Kylian Mbappé injury update

Watch: Weston McKennie sinks Man City with a gorgeous scissor kick goal in Champions League

A fantastic Weston McKennie goal vs Man City in the Champions League on Wednesday gave Juventus breathing space in a big 2-0 victory at home.

McKennie came on as a substitute against City, making his first appearance for Juve since Nov. 23. The American midfielder was out due to muscle fatigue.

He marked his return to the field with a literal bang as he and fellow American Timothy Weah combined for a glorious goal in the 75th minute to double their team’s lead.

Weston McKennie goal vs Man City

Watch: Man City’s failed penalty kick practice perfectly sums up their current form

Manchester City are experiencing one of their worst runs of form in years with just a single win in their last nine games. Nothing seems to be going right, and footage of a Man City penalty practice reflects that perfectly.

During a livestream of City’s practice on Tuesday something unthinkable happened. Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, Ilkay Gundogan and Erling Haaland all missed penalty kicks in training. The worst part? There wasn’t even a goalkeeper in goal.

Man City penalty practice fail

Christian Pulisic’s MRI scan reveals low-grade tear in his right calf

The latest Christian Pulisic injury update will disappoint AC Milan and United States men’s national team fans as the star forward has sustained a torn right calf. The tear is low-grade, but Pulisic will be out for 3-4 weeks.

Pulisic won’t play soccer again until 2025. That sounds bad until you remember that 2024 will be over in literally three weeks. We had a good laugh at how many news outlets made dramatic headlines of “PULISIC OUT FOR THE YEAR!” when the year is about to end.

Clickbait at its finest. We’re guilty of it too from time to time.

Norwegian Football Federation set to vote against FIFA’s ‘flawed and inconsistent’ World Cup bids

The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday said it will vote against FIFA's awarding of hosting rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups by acclamation, adding that it had formally criticized the process in a letter to the world governing body.

Votes are due to be held at FIFA's virtual extraordinary Congress on Wednesday to approve the 2030 and 2034 World Cups, though each has only a single bid, which are both expected to be confirmed by acclamation.

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