Finishing

LISBON — Raphinha scored deep into stoppage time to hand Barcelona a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday after a hat-trick from Vangelis Pavlidis gave the hosts a two-goal halftime lead.

Barcelona vs Benfica highlights

Greek striker Pavlidis opened the scoring after two minutes with a tap-in before Robert Lewandowski equalized from the spot as VAR awarded Barca a penalty for a Tomas Araujo foul on Alejandro Balde in the 11th minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored career goals 918 and 919 on Tuesday during Al Nassr’s 3-1 victory vs. Al Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League as he chases the dream of becoming the first player in history to record 1,000 official goals.

Tuesday’s game was his 92nd for Al Nassr since he debuted for the Saudi giants in January 2023. His brace on Tuesday brings his total goal contributions (goals + assists) for Al Nassr to 101.

Cristiano Ronaldo brace vs Al Khaleej

LONDON — Alexander Isak scored his 50th goal for Newcastle United as Eddie Howe's side took a huge step towards the League Cup final with a 2-0 victory at Arsenal on Tuesday.

Isak struck shortly before halftime in the first leg of the semi-final at a chilly Emirates Stadium and then had a big role in Newcastle's second scored by Anthony Gordon after the break.

Arsenal were left to rue their failure to convert several good chances with Gabriel Martinelli denied by the woodwork in the first half and Kai Havertz missing a golden opportunity.

An incredible Paul Mullin goal vs Blackpool was a late Christmas gift for Wrexham as every American’s favorite Welsh club secured a 2-1 victory on Thursday.

Wrexham achieved back-to-back promotions and now play with some of the bigger clubs in League One (England’s third tier on the soccer ladder). On Thursday the club owned by Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney continued their chase for a third promotion with some help from star striker Mullin.

After conceding in the third minute, Wrexham responded with a Mullin missile in the 24th minute.

This Thanksgiving PSV will be thankful for their American players as United States men’s national team stars Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi recorded three goals in eight minutes for a dramatic 3-2 comeback victory vs. Shakhtar Donetsk.

Tillman, who started the game, recorded a brace with goals in the 87th minute and 90th minute to bring PSV level. The 22-year-old’s first goal saw him sneak the ball across the line at the near post with goal-line technology helping determine the goal.

An amazing Alyssa Thompson goal vs Iceland opened the scoring for the United States women’s national team in their 3-1 victory on Thursday. The goal also marked Thompson’s first for the Stars and Stripes.

The USWNT went up against a compact and feisty Iceland side in their first game since the gold medal match at the Paris Olympics in August. 

WARSAW — First-half goals from Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo helped group leaders Portugal to a comfortable 3-1 victory away to Poland in the Nations League on Saturday as they continued their perfect start to the competition with three wins.

Silva put Portugal in front after 26 minutes, netting from Bruno Fernandes' headed assist, before Ronaldo doubled their lead 11 minutes later with a low, first-time shot.

Cristiano Ronaldo goal vs Poland

Brazil and Real Madrid phenom Endrick made his Champions League debut on Tuesday and made it a memorable one as he scored in a 3-1 victory vs. Stuttgart.

Endrick was substituted into the game for Jude Bellingham in the 80th minute and scored 15 minutes later in stoppage time to secure the win. 

A Real Madrid counterattack saw the 18-year-old ignore the options of passing the ball to either Kylian Mbappé or Vini Jr. as he took the opportunity himself from 30 yards out.

Ashley Hatch and Trinity Rodman led the Washington Spirit over the visiting Houston Dash 3-0 on Sunday.

The Spirit (14-4-2, 44 points) had no problems defeating Houston (3-12-5, 14 points) even without leading goal scorer Ouleymata Sarr. Instead, Hatch scored twice and Rodman had a goal and an assist to extend Washington's league unbeaten streak to five matches.

Trinity Rodman goal vs Houston Dash