Football

Open Extended Reactions Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once said that “attack wins you games, but defence wins you titles.” The problem is, without reliable goal scorers, a team will never be in a position to put the second part of the theory to the test, and no team has consistently failed to

Megan Swanick Sep 23, 2024, 08:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions It’s Monday, and another week of MLS action is in the books, which means it’s time for ESPN’s Power Rankings. Our Power Rankings are derived from a combination of key season statistics (points per game, goal differential, expected goal differential), recent performance, the Opta

Open Extended Reactions Pep Guardiola was always facing an uphill battle at Manchester City this season, but the grim news of Rodri suffering an ACL injury that is likely to rule the midfielder out until next season has now given Guardiola and his team a mountain to climb. Sources have told ESPN that defensive midfielder

Open Extended Reactions Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made, and are they correct? After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game. In this week’s

Sep 22, 2024, 10:16 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Another topsy-turvy weekend of European football action is in the books, with Christian Pulisic instrumental as AC Milan pipped Internazionale 2-1 in the Derby della Madonnina. His goal, combined with Matteo Gabbia‘s late header, secured a crucial victory for Milan, easing pressure on manager Paulo Fonseca

Sep 22, 2024, 02:33 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — John Stones‘ 98th-minute equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw for Manchester City against an Arsenal side who had to play the entire second half with ten men following Leandro Trossard‘s controversial red card. In a pulsating game at Etihad Stadium on Sunday between last

Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Sep 21, 2024, 06:55 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said his team are improving “little by little” after their 4-1 comeback win against Espanyol in LaLiga on Saturday. Madrid failed to score in the first half at the Santiago Bernabeu — they’ve only scored one first-half

Lizzy Becherano Sep 21, 2024, 06:01 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Inter Miami head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino claimed the match against New York City FC at Yankee Stadium “lacked a good referee” after a heated contest resulted in a 1-1 draw at Yankee Stadium Saturday. Inter Miami players earned five of the nine yellow

Connor O’Halloran Sep 21, 2024, 03:31 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LONDON — Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has fired back at pundits over “speculation” that his decision to bench Marcus Rashford against Crystal Palace on Saturday was down to anything other than “rotation.” United left Selhurst Park with just a point from a

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentSep 20, 2024, 06:45 PM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, is among the venues selected to host games at the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, with FIFA targeting an announcement on the full

Open Extended Reactions Player frustration over playing too many games and not getting enough rest is building across football, but just how close is the sport to a player strike? The issue of burnout has always been a significant topic in the game, but the expansion of UEFA’s club competitions and FIFA’s brand new Club

Multiple contributors Sep 20, 2024, 08:15 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Just one month of the 2024 MLS regular season remains. The campaign began seven months ago, affording us plenty of opportunities to get a good look at the best (and worst) the league has to offer. So as we march toward Decision Day on

Adriana Garcia Sep 20, 2024, 08:12 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said he believes players would be willing to take a pay cut if it meant playing fewer games during the season. Top internationals competing in the expanded Champions League and the revamped Club World Cup could end up playing

Sep 19, 2024, 06:21 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The 2024-25 UEFA Champions League is underway in its new format, and match day one is wrapped up as Real Madrid kicked off their title defense, while big hitters Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain got off to a winning start. After a first round

Sep 19, 2024, 02:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Champions League is back! Europe’s premier club competition returns for 2024-25 with six matches on Thursday across the continent, providing exciting matchups, top talent and drama. Enjoy the play-by-play from all the matches as Arsenal travel to Atalanta, AS Monaco host Barcelona, Atlético Madrid face

Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Sep 19, 2024, 05:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has backed Rodri‘s warning that players could be close to taking strike action over the number of games they’re being asked to play. Speaking in a news conference on Tuesday, the Manchester City midfielder said a players’

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentSep 18, 2024, 06:42 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — This is exactly what UEFA had in mind when they revamped the Champions League. Two top teams battling it out in the new-look league phase rather than waiting until the knockout rounds for the best games. The only thing missing from

Sep 18, 2024, 02:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Champions League is back! Europe’s premier club competition returns for 2024-25 with six matches on Wednesday across the continent, providing exciting matchups, top talent and drama. Enjoy the play-by-play from all the matches as Manchester City take on Internazionale, Paris Saint-Germain host Girona and more.