Game Recaps

Conceding two olimpico goals in the space of two weeks… only Manchester United.

Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated Manchester United in yet another lackluster display from Rúben Amorim’s men, with the relegation-fighting club keeping a clean sheet in the 2-0 Boxing Day win at home aganst the Red Devils.

This most-recent defeat was Manchester United’s fourth loss in their last five Premier League games, with captain Bruno Fernandes earning a red card in the opening minutes of the second half after receiving a second yellow.

LONDON, Dec 22 (Reuters) - Liverpool extended their lead at the top of the Premier League with a dominant but chaotic 6-3 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday thanks to doubles from Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah.

Diaz met Trent Alexander-Arnold's beautiful cross with a diving header to open the scoring before Alexis Mac Allister nodded home from close range to double Liverpool's lead, but James Maddison pulled one back four minutes before half-time.

WHAT A BALL.
WHAT A FINISH.

It was only a matter of time, folks.

Kylian Mbappé had yet another standout for performance for Real Madrid in their 4-2 LaLiga home win over Sevilla on Sunday, scoring the game-opener with an absolute screamer from outside the box.

Watch: Mbappé goal vs. Sevilla

The recently-turned 26-year-old received the ball from outside the box, looked up towards goal and hit a bullet at Álvaro Fernández’s goal to make it 1-0 just 10 minutes into the match.

Simeone always finds a way.

FC Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid had an exciting LaLiga title-race match at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Saturday, with Diego Simeone’s men getting an enormous win to officially take the lead as league-leaders.

Watch: Pedri goal vs. Atletico Madrid

BIRMINGHAM — Aston Villa inflicted more misery on shell-shocked Manchester City on Saturday, defeating them 2-1 in the Premier League with goals from Colombian forward Jhon Duran and former City forward Morgan Rogers.

Villa rose above City into fifth place in the Premier League table, and the title holders dropped provisionally to sixth with their ninth loss in 12 games across all competitions.

Pep Guardiola's team could fall to as low as ninth by the end of the weekend and have just one victory to show from that 12-game stretch.

Mexican giant Club América defeated CF Monterrey with a 3-2 aggregate score to become Liga MX champions for a record 16th time on Sunday, turning into the first club to ever win back-to-back-to-back league titles since the installment of the two-tournament-per-year format in 1996.

Mexican side Pachuca won the FIFA Challenger Cup match on penalties in Qatar on Saturday by edging Egyptian side Al Ahly 6-5 after a dour goalless draw following extra time and will face Real Madrid in next week's Intercontinental Cup final.

Pachuca won the shootout after missing their first two penalties to become only the second Concacaf team to reach the final of the competition against European champions Real, which takes place at the Lusail Stadium on Wednesday.

Welcome to this week’s edition of USMNT Abroad, where we bring you the latest updates on American soccer players making waves across Europe. 

From standout performances to key transfers, rumors and injury reports, The18 has got you covered with all the action involving U.S. men’s national team players in Europe’s top leagues. 

C’mon, you yanks!

USMNT Abroad this weekend: The latest on American players in Europe

Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)

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.