Football

6:35 PM ET Ahead of the FIFA international break, some prominent clubs (looking at the ones from Bavaria and Turin) are already facing some questions so early in the season. And at other sides, it could mean see some managers being replaced before league action re-starts in less than a fortnight. Meanwhile, we saw some

Will the World Cup be full of tired stars? Assessing burnout, minutes played across top leagues If it seems like elite players like Virgil van Dijk look a little error-prone or rusty this season, could it be that they’re all just exhausted? How many players are facing burnout ahead of the World Cup?

12:40 PM ET Barcelona went top of LaLiga ahead of Real Madrid after a commanding performance against Elche, who went down to 10 men after Gonzalo Verdu received a red in the 14th minute. – Report: Barca 3-0 Elche | LaLiga table | Upcoming fixtures Robert Lewandowski scored a brace, with Memphis Depay also getting

2:20 PM ET Son Heung-Min came off the bench and scored a quick-fire hat trick as Tottenham Hotspur rallied to a dominant 6-2 victory over bottom-place Leicester City in the Premier League on Saturday. The South Korean, the Premier League’s joint-top scorer last season, had not scored in Tottenham’s first eight games and had lost

9:30 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Manchester City put in a dominant performance against Wolves away as they won 3-0 to leapfrog Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.) Jack Grealish took just 55 seconds to open the scoring as he latched on to a

7:30 PM ET Real Madrid have condemned racist comments made about their forward Vinicius Junior as the Brazilian star said in a video statement that he won’t change his celebration and the critics are bothered by a “victorious black Brazilian in Europe.” While appearing as a panellist on a Spanish soccer show Friday, leading agent

11:43 AM ET Connor O’Halloran Maria Petri attended Arsenal games of all levels and was embraced by the club and its players of all ages for her loyalty and caring spirit. Courtesy of Marcia Milnes Maria Petri shuffled achingly along the sideline and collapsed into her seat. It was last spring, and the 83-year-old Petri was

11:08 AM ET Former England captain and Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham joined thousands waiting in line to see Queen Elizabeth II lying in state on Friday, queuing for more than 13 hours to pay his respects to the long-serving monarch. Beckham, 47, was spotted in the huge queue which has formed on the streets

3:18 PM ET And just like that, as September reaches only its midway point, we are one-third of the way through the Champions League group stage. The 2022-23 European soccer season is a particularly relentless ride, thanks to the World Cup, and big teams that have started slowly in league play now have holes to

11:43 AM ET Cesar Hernandez Things haven’t exactly gone to plan for Hector Herrera and the Houston Dynamo. After the July arrival of the star Mexico midfielder as arguably the club’s biggest signing ever, the Dynamo has since plummeted in the Major League Soccer‘s Western Conference standings, officially eliminated from contention for MLS Cup playoffs

4:30 AM ET Matchday two of the Champions League group stage is wrapped up, providing fans with late drama, upsets and plenty of goals. We asked our writers Rob Dawson, Alex Kirkland and Mark Ogden to answer some of our burning questions. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, more (U.S.) What caught your attention

5:30 PM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Erling Haaland‘s stunning strike completed a 2-1 comeback win for Manchester City against his former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday. The Bundesliga club went ahead through English midfielder Jude Bellingham but City equalised through John Stones and Haaland’s acrobatic finish won it late on. – Stream

5:25 PM ET LONDON — Graham Potter’s reign at Chelsea is now officially underway. In Chelsea’s first match since manager Thomas Tuchel was fired last week, the Blues settled for a 1-1 draw to Salzburg in the Champions League on Wednesday. With the result, Chelsea now have just one point from their two opening matches

8:00 AM ET This week, new Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly made a bold, and some would say misguided, proposal for the Premier League to introduce an all-star game of North vs. South, similar to those featured in a variety of sports in the United States. 2 Related It hasn’t gone down well, given the ongoing

2:22 PM ET The World Cup is in Messi’s sights and his form suggests he’s fully focused on achieving his top goals for club and country this season. Aurelien Meunier – PSG/PSG via Getty Images The stat says a lot about the kind of season Lionel Messi is having so far. In the big five European

5:10 PM ET MUNICH, Germany — Second-half goals from Lucas Hernandez and Leroy Sane spoiled Robert Lewandowski‘s return to Allianz Arena as Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 2-0 in Champions League Group C action. It was an unhappy return to Bavaria for Lewandowski, who is Bayern’s second-highest all-time scorer but left in the summer after eight

8:48 AM ET Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Carlo Ancelotti has laughed off reports that Kylian Mbappe could leave Paris Saint-Germain sooner than expected, saying Real Madrid’s focus is on their in-form strike duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. On Tuesday the newspaper L’Equipe reported in a front page story that Mbappe’s PSG contract — signed in

12:45 PM ET Chelsea‘s Premier League clash with Liverpool and Manchester United‘s home game against Leeds next Sunday have been postponed due to policing issues surrounding the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, but seven other Premier League fixtures will go ahead this weekend. All football in the United Kingdom was postponed last weekend as a