France entered the SheBelieves Cup as the lowest-ranked team of the four involved, ranked sixth while the others were all in the top three. But thanks to a blistering goal from Amandine Henry for France vs. Germany, Les Bleues ensured they didn’t finish last in the tournament, beating Die Nationalelf 3-0.
Tottenham had this. For 60 minutes of play, Tottenham deserved this ... but Juventus aren’t here for your sentimental nonsense.
Spurs landed five shots on target in the first half — nobody does that to Juventus. Son Heung-min looked razor sharp. Harry Kane was bossing Giorgio Chiellini. Paulo Dybala was about to get roasted on the spit of a thousand different hot takes. Only Andrea Barzagli was doing fun, wily veteran things.
Here is the play that most sums up the Manchester City-Basel Champions League tie:
The New York Red Bulls took a giant step towards the CONCACAF Champions League semifinals with a rare MLS victory in Mexico on Tuesday night, downing Club Tijuana at Estadio Caliente 2-0 in their quarterfinal first leg matchup.
The Metros will need to take care of business at Red Bull Arena on March 13, but they played the first leg to perfection. Bradley Wright-Phillips, the club’s all-time leading scorer, scored a brace and USMNT goalkeeper Luis Robles recorded 13 saves, and the MLS side now returns to Harrison with two vital away goals and a precious clean sheet.
Paris Saint-Germain was always going to be facing an uphill battle. After allowing three unanswered goals in a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, a comeback became even more unlikely when Neymar injured himself right before his sister’s birthday. But the Brazilian really missed by PSG vs Real Madrid in the Champions League was not Neymar but experienced defender Dani Alves.
No player has appeared more in the UEFA Champions League than FC Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Today, the 36-year-old shot-stopper made his 167th appearance in the competition in Porto’s 0-0 draw with Liverpool (ultimately a 5-0 aggregate win for the Reds).
Casillas also holds the Champions League clean sheet record, a mark he improved to 59 today.
A two-goal performance from Cristiano Ronaldo saw Real Madrid defeat Getafe in La Liga play Saturday, and the Portuguese star recorded another remarkable individual achievement with goals number 300 and 301 in Spanish league play, putting him alongside Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the only members of the milestone club.
Real moved four points above Valencia in third place, and manager Zinedine Zidane will be pleased to have had both Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on the scoresheet before Tuesday’s trip to Paris to play a Neymar-less PSG.
Over in Europe today, PSG strolled to victory, Juventus again won it at the death, and Tottenham and Liverpool flexed their collective muscle against relegation candidates. While it was all too predictable in the world’s premier competitions, Major League Soccer kicked off its 23rd season with the #SaveTheCrew taking it to the reigning Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup champions, Toronto FC.
The FC Porto vs Sporting Lisbon match finished 2-1 in favor of the host Dragons, who won despite a howler from Iker Casillas. But more so than the three goals that were scored, the highlight of the match came from Porto’s medical staff in the 60th minute.
Porto scored an important win over Sporting thanks to goals from Iván Marcano and Yacine Brahimi. The Dragons are now eight points clear of Sporting and Benfica atop the Liga Nos standings, though Benfica has a game in hand.
Marcano opened the scoring in the 28th minute with a header following a corner kick.
On paper, this is one of the more shocking upsets you’ll ever see in the CONCACAF Champions League. FC Dallas joined the Colorado Rapids as victims of the CCL Round of 16, leaving just Seattle and NYRB as the only remaining American representatives. But while Colorado’s defeat to Toronto FC was widely expected, Dallas’ plummet from grace continues to be a free fall.