Vinícius Júnior's transformation this season has been well documented. The 21-year-old is now one of LaLiga's finest finishers and far more efficient in the final third, while his combination play with Ferland Mendy, Toni Kroos and Karim Benzema from Real's left-hand side makes for some of the most exciting viewing in football.
Chelsea played its first home match since owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the UK government and disqualified by the Premier League — leaving the club in limbo and immediately needing a new owner — on Sunday, and it was fittingly against Newcastle, which has been steadily climbing the table since its own new owners flexed their financial might in the January window.
Formiga, 44, is a legend of the game in the truest sense of the word. Though she retired from the Brazilian national team in November, she began her 30th year of professional football on Monday as the Brasileiro Feminino A1 season kicked off. She may be old enough to be both team captain and team mom, but she’s still out there breaking ankles with ageless grace and style on the pitch.
The USWNT bounced back from a poor performance against the Czech Republic by crushing New Zealand 5-0 on Sunday. It helped to have Football Ferns defender Meikayla Moore score a perfect hat trick of own goals, but the Americans were far more adventurous on offense, creating better scoring opportunities than in the stunning 0-0 draw a few days earlier.
Pachuca se encaramó a la cima del Clausura 2022 luego de vencer a domicilio a un feble Necaxa. Fue un 1-3 incuestionable y que además regaló a sus espectadores un candidato a gol del año en la Liga MX, gracias a una plástica acción de Avilés Hurtado.
La conquista ocurrió en el minuto 9, cuando los Tuzos ya ganaban 0-1 gracias a anotación de Romario Ibarra.
Saturday’s Milan derby did anything but disappoint as AC Milan defeated Inter Milan 2-1 in an incredibly entertaining game. Olivier Giroud netted two late goals for the Rossoneri to stage a dramatic comeback. The biggest hero of the game might have been goalkeeper Mike Maignan who had several brilliant saves.
Maignan’s finest hour came in the first half when he momentarily halted an Inter counterattack with a slide tackle 20 yards out of his goal. With the ball at his feet Maignan then had the audacity to attempt to chop the ball past both attackers.
Egypt came from a goal down to defeat Morocco 2-1 in extra time and advance to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations — where host nation Cameroon awaits — with captain Mohamed Salah providing an inspirational goal and assist for the Pharaohs on Sunday.
Morocco's opening goal came early. If you want an example of why Kylian Mbappé thinks Achraf Hakimi is the best right back in the world, here's one.
Atlas Femenil tenía una chance de ir por el título de la Liga MX y sumarse al plantel varonil en una operación de dominio absoluto del fútbol mexicano. Las rojinegras, sin embargo, no pudieron aguantar una demoledora genialidad de Aylin Avilez y terminaron cediendo su cupo en la final a las Rayadas de Monterrey.
Benfica’s Futsal team defeated Hungarian side Haladás 8-3 in the Futsal Champions League on Wednesday. The real talk of the town is the incredible goal scored by Benfica’s Hossein Tayyebi. The Iranian pulled out some exquisite trickery to score Benfica’s third goal. Check out this Tayyebi goal.
It wasn’t a convincing win but Real Madrid defeated Athletic Club 1-0 on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu to open a seven-point lead over Atlético at the top of LaLiga (although los Colchoneros maintain a game in hand).
Athletic doesn’t make it easy for anyone — the Basque side entered this match with the division’s best defensive record after conceding 10 goals through 14 matches — but they came up against two of the planet’s most in-form players in Karim Benzema and Vinícius Júnior, and it was ultimately that duo that made the difference.