Game Recaps

By slaying Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday, Alcoyano lived up to a past reputation which saw their name enter Spanish folklore as a byword for fighting spirit and the capacity to overcome the odds.

The third division, semi-professional side have rarely had much to shout about but their renowned capacity to endure suffering and humiliation led to the coining of the phrase "You have more spirit than Alcoyano" which is still heard in everyday conversations, even when football is not being discussed.

It’s been decreed by content creators across the land: Cristiano Ronaldo, with his 760th career goal, is now the top scoring player in soccer history, and there’s nothing Pelé can do now except bow to B/R Football’s use of the goat emoji. 

pic.twitter.com/okMjoSslS0

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 20, 2021

The Mewis sisters, led by Samantha's three goals, did all the scoring as the U.S. women's national team opened its 2021 campaign with a 4-0 victory against Colombia on Monday in Orlando, Fla.

After finishing entirely trophyless last season, Barcelona’s players emphasized how important this year's Supercopa de España was, even if the timing and circumstances surrounding this year’s edition were less than ideal for all four competing clubs. 

A second dose of Matthew Hoppe heroics was thwarted by a Luka Jović brace in Eintracht Frankfurt’s 3-1 Bundesliga victory against Schalke on Sunday. The Frankfurt-Schalke highlights depict the emergence of the American teenager and the resurgence of a written off star.

A tense, shouty and ultimately intriguing but largely uneventful meeting between Liverpool and Manchester United ended in a 0-0 stalemate at Anfield on Sunday to keep the Red Devils on top of the Premier League after 18 matches while Liverpool fell to third. 

In the end, Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s side came closest to securing all three points if not for Alisson’s big second half saves on Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba. 

Manchester United’s surprise run at the top of the FA WSL was halted by Chelsea on Sunday with the Blues handing the Red Devils their first defeat of the season and taking their spot at the summit in the process.

The rise of United and legitimacy of its title challenge was highlighted this week by Tobin Heath’s decision to decline a call-up for the USWNT’s January camp in order to stay in Manchester for a couple crucial games, including today’s top-of-the-table clash.  

Lorenzo Insigne scored twice and produced a dazzling assist as Napoli stormed into third place in Serie A with a crushing 6-0 victory over Fiorentina on Sunday.

Striker Andrea Petagna teed up Insigne to fire home after just five minutes, and Petagna was again the provider when he teed up Diego Demme for the second.

Insigne produced a moment of magic on the 38th minute, winning the ball inside his own half and embarking on a winding dribble past several opposition defenders, before playing an inch-perfect pass behind the defense for Hirving Lozano to tap in.

Roma’s 22-year-old center back Roger Ibañez is not a bad footballer — we don’t want to pile on too much here — but he had one of the worst performances of his career on Friday. Ibañez was directly responsible for Lazio’s first two goals en route to a 3-0 defeat in the Derby della Capitale.

Lazio, which came into the match in eighth place and eager for a victory to get back into the race for Champions League qualification, controlled the Roman rivalry from the outset. A couple of early mistakes from Ibañez put Le Aquile on the road to an easy win.

Mauricio Pochettino can finally put the torment of finishing runner-up in the League Cup, Premier League and Champions League behind him: He's a Trophée des Champions CHAMPION!

The 48-year-old Argentine captured the first trophy of his managerial career after leading PSG to a 2-1 win over Marseille in Wednesday’s Trophée des Champions, giving him a record of two wins (one trophy) and one draw in Paris. It's going well.