5:30 AM ET Atletico Mineiro striker Hulk has been the undoubted player of the season in the Brazilian league. Pedro Vilela/Getty Images Half a century of waiting came to an end on Thursday. It was in 1971 that Brazil launched its first genuine national league competition, with the inaugural title won by Atletico Mineiro from the
Month: December 2021
3:45 AM ET Sid LoweSpain writer Thibaut Courtois has been superb between the posts for Real Madrid this season and is arguably the main reason they lead LaLiga. Angel Martinez/Getty Images “You can say that we have a goalkeeper,” Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said, smiling. You can, yeah. This was after a game against Sevilla,
6:31 PM ET Derbies, rivalry matches and clasicos serve as useful mile markers over the course of a long soccer season. They give us an excuse to check in on two key teams, see how everything is going and see what has happened since the last time said teams met. With the Bundesliga’s Der Klassiker
5:32 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Interim Manchester United manager Michael Carrick has left the club with immediate effect, it was announced on Thursday. Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images MANCHESTER, England — Michael Carrick has decided to leave Manchester United following his stint as caretaker manager, the club have announced. United released a statement within minutes
7:16 PM ET Adam Brown The summer transfer window was unlike any other, see all the major deals and check out how we graded the biggest signings. And just because the window is shut until January, that doesn’t mean the rumours won’t keep coming. Here’s the latest gossip and speculation. TOP STORY: Ronaldo may replace
11:45 AM ET Moises Llorens Sam Marsden Barcelona have contacted Edinson Cavani‘s representatives to gauge his interest on leaving Manchester United for the Camp Nou during the January transfer window, various sources told ESPN. ESPN has learned that a Barcelona representative contacted Cavani’s environment to inquire out about his situation. – Stream ESPN FC Daily
4:23 PM ET Tottenham Hotspur moved up to sixth in the Premier League with a 2-0 win over Brentford in north London on Thursday night. – ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more Spurs took the lead just past the 10-minute mark when a dangerous Son Heung-Min cross deflected off Bretford’s Sergi Canos
6:15 PM ET Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal for Manchester United. Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images There’s a new boss at Manchester United, but Ralf Rangnick already knows that Cristiano Ronaldo is still the main man. Who knows how Rangnick’s six-month stint as interim manager at Old Trafford will ultimately turn
Nov 23, 2021 While his place among the all-time football greats is already secure, Portugal and Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo reached another truly gigantic career milestone by scoring twice in Thursday’s Premier League clash against Arsenal to take his career goal tally past 800. Ronaldo — who was voted No. 2 among the world’s
9:42 AM ET Adriana Garcia LaLiga‘s attempt to stage a league game in the United States has had another setback with a Madrid court rejecting its appeal of an earlier ruling that had prevented a Barcelona match at Girona from being played in Miami. A Spanish court had ruled on March 2020 in favour of
3:04 AM ET Antonio Conte has said being Tottenham Hotspur manager is the biggest challenge of his career so far and that the club is paying the price for letting standards slip over the years. Tottenham, who are ninth in the Premier League, have won two of their four games in all competitions since Conte
11:55 AM ET Pozzo took over Udinese over 35 years ago and as the club celebrates its 125th birthday, it’s clear that they’re a template for other small teams to follow when it comes to keeping up with richer opponents. Dino Panato/Getty Images When Giampaolo Pozzo acquired Udinese in 1986, the world was a distinctly different
12:03 PM ET Bundesliga matches can only have an attendance of up to 50% and a maximum of 15,000 spectators after the German government on Thursday reintroduced restrictions for sports events amid rising cases of COVID-19 infections. Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel and her successor Olaf Scholz agreed with the leaders of Germany’s 16 states on
7:20 AM ET As a forward who scored on his first ever appearance as a Manchester United player, in the Premier League and for the England national as a teenager, Marcus Rashford is no stranger to daunting debuts. Now Rashford is making his first foray into the world of fiction writing, and is in the
5:59 AM ET Adriana Garcia Barcelona defender Samuel Umtiti confronted a group of fans after they blocked his car while he left the club’s training ground on Wednesday. Video of the incident showed that three fans stood in the middle of the road and jumped up and down in front of the player’s vehicle. One
12:29 PM ET Caitlin Murray There have been underdog teams in the 2021 MLS Cup playoffs, and then there is Real Salt Lake. You’d be forgiven if you didn’t predict they’d get this far — please forgive us, Utahans. To call RSL’s path to the MLS Western Conference final on Saturday a bumpy one would
4:00 AM ET Alex KirklandESPN FC MADRID — On a wet November afternoon at Atletico Madrid‘s training ground, Jan Oblak wants to set the record straight about some goalkeeping stereotypes. “We’re not crazy,” he tells ESPN, moments after learning that he has been voted No. 1 male goalkeeper in this year’s FC 100. “We’re normal
5:12 PM ET Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool thumped Everton 4-1 in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Wednesday to stay two points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea. – ESPN+ guide: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, FA Cup, more (U.S.)– Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)– Don’t have ESPN? Get instant access Jurgen
12:18 PM ET At least he’s really familiar with the place now. Once again, as has happened so often since he moved from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2017, Neymar will travel to Doha, Qatar, to rehab his left ankle injury at the Aspetar clinic. It is the sixth time in the
4:50 PM ET Chelsea remain top of the Premier League after winger Hakim Ziyech scored a second-half winner to help claim a 2-1 victory over Watford on Wednesday despite a lengthy delay following a medical emergency at Vicarage Road. Boss Thomas Tuchel’s side started slow before teams both were taken off the field by the