Game Recaps

Thomas Muller just about nailed Wednesday's Bayern Munich-Besiktas outcome during a press conference prior to the match.

After a thrilling 3-2 Tigres win in Monterrey pulled the Liga MX club level with Toronto FC on aggregate in the Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals, the defending MLS Cup champions advanced to the semifinals over the Liga MX Apertura Champions on away goals.

Toronto FC needed a lucky Tigres own goal, some Sebastian Giovinco magic (he scored a free kick, as per usual) and a little more luck to withstand a late Tigres rally in order to advance, but advance they did. 

The New York Red Bulls struck a blow for MLS pride in the early Concacaf Champions League match Tuesday when they beat Liga MX's Club Tijuana 3-1, 5-1 on aggregate, to advance to the semifinals.

The Red Bulls cut Tijuana with intricate movement in the final third, which is not a thing one normally associates with Major League Soccer. It's a brave new world.

Consider it karma for Jose Mourinho. The Special One used boring tactics to beat Liverpool on Saturday and tried similarly cynical tactics on Tuesday for Manchester United vs Sevilla. This time, the result was a stunning 2-1 defeat, the Red Devils going out in the Champions League Round of 16. 

AS Roma did just enough to overturn their deficit against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League Round of 16 on Tuesday, Edin Dzeko scoring the lone goal in the 52nd minute to put Roma through via the away goals rule, 2-2 on aggregate.

Shakhtar went about their business professionally in the opening 45, looking dangerous on the counter and assured in possession while Roma struggled to generate any chances of note.

If last week’s round of Serie A fixtures was dominated by tragedy, then this week’s matches were defined by flashes of beauty peering through the gloom. Across a number of games, there were flashes of brilliance which pierced through the fog for vastly different reasons. Even if, ultimately, the moments meant nothing, the surge of emotion and energy was undeniable.

Let’s begin with the most astounding of all.

Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United rarely had the ball and rarely attacked. The Red Devils gave up an own goal that looked impossible to score. And yet the Manchester United vs Liverpool match never seemed in doubt for the home side at Old Trafford, with a Marcus Rashford brace powering a 2-1 victory on Saturday.

Liverpool dominated in all the stats that don’t matter: possession (68-32 percent), shots (14-5) and corner kicks (13-1). But a couple of unimaginative, Route 1 attacks in the opening half hour were all Manchester United needed to secure victory. 

This is starting to look familiar. Just like last season, when Cristiano Ronaldo started the season slow before exploding late in the season, the Portuguese forward is rounding into form yet again, only this time he’s started even earlier. Ronaldo scored a brace for Real Madrid vs Eibar on Saturday, extending a superb run in the last two months as Los Blancos earned a 2-1 victory.

Clint Dempsey (of course it was Clint Dempsey) scored the only goal in a 1-0 Seattle Sounders victory over Chivas Guadalajara in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League that capped a remarkable two-day stretch that saw the three remaining MLS clubs all beat their Liga MX opponents. That, for those who don't normally follow the CONCACAF Champions League, is noteworthy and even remarkable.

Anyway, here's the goal:

England channeled the spirit of Robert Green against the USWNT Wednesday, conceding a very silly own goal on the way to a 1-0 USA victory that gave the Americans the SheBelieves Cup.

Megan Rapinoe's cross/shot was eventually knocked into the England netby goalkeeper Karen Bardsley for the only goal of the night in the 58th minute.