During the first five matchdays of the Premier League season, three of the league’s four major African superstars — Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane — had reaffirmed their qualities; this past weekend, it was the turn of the fourth – Riyad Mahrez – to step into the spotlight. Mahrez has been the quietest of the
Leagues
An own goal from Yerry Mina summed up Everton’s stunning defeat at home to newly promoted Sheffield United. Craig Burley explains why the talent gap between Man City, Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League is going to be a problem. Everton manager Marco Silva has accused his underperforming players of “hiding” after a
Wayne Rooney came close with several chances, but had to settle for just an assist in D.C. United’s 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders. To watch MLS, subscribe to ESPN+. Seven Seattle Sounders fans were assaulted following Sunday’s match between the Sounders and D.C. United, according to a report filed with Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police
Gab Marcotti says Barcelona’s midfield still needs to be figured out, but it’s not time for Barca to panic just yet. Craig Burley thinks the January transfer window could be catastrophic for Barcelona. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi each have five Ballons d’Or, but does the Portugal star have an argument to deserving more? Ernesto
The referee halts the Atalanta-Fiorentina match in Serie A to issue a warning to fans after racist chants are directed at Fiorentina’s Dalbert. FIFA president Gianni Infantino labeled the situation of racism inside Italian football stadiums “very serious” following the latest incident of offensive chants. A 2-2 draw between Atalanta and Fiorentina on Sunday was
Marco Reus was frustrated following criticism of Borussia Dortmund’s mentality. Marco Reus blasted criticism of Borussia Dortmund players’ mentality as a “pain in the ass” after Eintracht Frankfurt scored an 88th-minute goal to snatch a 2-2 draw on Sunday. Last season, Dortmund had led the table for much of the campaign before a poor run
11:25 AM ET Stade Rennais missed out on the opportunity to go top of the Ligue 1 table when they were held 1-1 at home by Lille on Sunday. Adrien Hunou cancelled out Jonathan Ikone‘s second-half strike as Rennes moved up to third on 11 points from six matches, leaving Lille in fifth, one point
After losing 2-1 to Liverpool, ESPN FC’s Craig Burley says Chelsea’s biggest problem so far this season is finding the back of the net. Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said that Video Assistant Referee (VAR) “changes the atmosphere” of matches after his side saw a goal disallowed in their 2-1 loss to league leaders Liverpool on
8:53 PM ET Tom Barlow scored his third goal of the season, and the New York Red Bulls defeated the Philadelphia Union 2-0 at Red Bull Arena on Sunday while moving above Toronto FC in the Eastern Conference table. Daniel Royer added his 11th goal late for the Red Bulls (14-13-5, 47 points), who for
ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol cannot find a positive thing to say about Real Madrid’s performance in their 3-0 defeat at PSG. Frank Leboeuf joins the ESPN FC crew to break down how Paris Saint-Germain came together as a team to defeat Real Madrid 3-0 in the Champions League. Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane fumed at
12:37 PM ET Troubled Valencia’s joy at beating Chelsea in the Champions League in midweek was punctured by a disappointing 1-1 draw at home to basement club Leganes in La Liga on Sunday. Valencia took the lead in coach Albert Celades’ first home game when Daniel Parejo slammed home a penalty in the 21st minute
11:29 AM ET BERLIN, Sept 21 (Reuters) – Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored twice to equal a 51-year-old record as champions Bayern Munich demolished Cologne 4-0 on Saturday to climb to the top spot of the standings. Poland striker Lewandowski grabbed the first two goals and, after Cologne’s Kingsley Ehizibue was sent off, Philippe
6:36 PM ET Marseille missed the chance to go ahead of Paris Saint-Germain at the top of Ligue 1 as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Montpellier on Saturday in a match that ended with three red cards being shown in stoppage time. Montpellier took the lead in the 17th minute
2:31 PM ET Brighton & Hove Albion did everything right except score a goal in a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Saturday that heaped the pressure on both teams. In a game of few clear chances at St. James’ Park, Newcastle defended for large parts of the match against the visiting side
6:29 PM ET Atlanta United leading scorer Josef Martinez was stretchered off with a leg injury in a 3-1 defeat of the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday. Emerson Hyndman scored in the 90th-minute and Pity Martinez added an insurance goal in stoppage time for United. The two late goals helped Atlanta (54 points) move into
The Champions League group stage is back, but who were the stars this week? Here’s the best XI from the first games. The Champions League’s best performers from this week. Goalkeeper: Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona) Barcelona were well under par in their 0-0 draw against Borussia Dortmund so it was fortunate they had a goalkeeper
“If the ball goes in, everything will change,” said Valencia president Anil Murthy. It was 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday night and just under two hours later, the ball did go in. With 17 minutes left at Stamford Bridge, Dani Parejo‘s clipped free-kick found Rodrigo Moreno dashing across the face of the Chelsea six-yard box. A
Alejandro Moreno examines how Lionel Messi impacted the game during the final 30 minutes of Barcelona’s scoreless draw against Dortmund. ESPN FC’s Steve Nicol explains why Jadon Sancho should depart Dortmund and take the next step in his footballing career. Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc has backed defender Mats Hummels to be recalled for
It will happen at some point this season, possibly as early as November. Chelsea will play a game with seven homegrown players in their starting XI. Thus far, we’ve seen four: Andreas Christensen and Fikayo Tomori at the back, Mason Mount in midfield, Tammy Abraham up front. With Mount doubtful for Sunday’s clash with Liverpool,
After Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s declaration that he’s the top player MLS has ever seen, Shaka Hislop shares his top five Designated Players of all time. The Portland Timbers will try to get their house — and home form — in order before the playoffs slip away, while Josef Martinez aims to score for a 16th straight