Football

5:30 PM ET Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel has warned against starting “a hunt for non-vaccinated people” as English football battles to continue its schedule over Christmas with COVID-19 cases rising in the United Kingdom. The UK recorded 90,629 new cases on Tuesday, a day after the Premier League and English Football Leagues vowed to

3:07 PM ET Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez won’t be popular at Sevilla, and that has nothing to do with whether he inspires his squad of talented youngsters and downbeat senior pros to a slightly unlikely looking victory over Los Rojiblancos at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Tuesday (3 p.m. ET, stream live on ESPN+).

6:00 AM ET Manchester City took pole position in the Premier League title chase this weekend with another comprehensive victory, this time over struggling Newcastle on Sunday afternoon. 2 Related Pep Guardiola’s side scored their 11th unanswered goal in the space of just two matches as they galloped to a 4-0 victory at St James’

2:55 PM ET Ian DarkeESPN.com writer Close Darke, who called games for the network during the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, is ESPN lead soccer voice in the United States. He has covered the Barclays Premier League and the Champions League since 1982, and has one of the world’s most recognizable soccer voices.

4:24 AM ET Less than 18 months have passed since Mikel Arteta played a pivotal role in convincing Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to sign a contract extension with Arsenal. The striker was coveted throughout Europe at the time, with Barcelona, Inter Milan and even London rivals Chelsea sensing an opportunity to snatch away the Gunners’ prized forward

6:40 PM ET It was another weekend full of talking points around Europe, as the Premier League grappled with postponements due to coronavirus cases and the Bundesliga kicked off again behind closed doors. Beyond that, Barcelona wrapped up a dramatic win, Arsenal surged into the top four for Christmas thanks to Gabriel Martinelli, and Borussia

3:31 PM ET LONDON — Liverpool needed some calm amid the chaos. The Premier League‘s battle to continue amid rising COVID-19 cases across Britain gives every game that goes ahead a heightened sense of unpredictability, and Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Tottenham Hotspur was perhaps the most anarchic example yet. Usually, it is Virgil van Dijk

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10:13 PM ET Cole Bassett scored on his United States debut in a 1-0 win over 10-man Bosnia and Herzegovina in Carson, California, on Saturday night. Jordan Morris, who was making his first start for the U.S. since suffering a knee injury with Swansea City in February, saw a golden opportunity saved just before the

5:35 PM ET Police made one arrest after Arsenal reported a fan for alleged racial abuse directed at their substitutes’ bench during the 4-1 Premier League win at Leeds United on Saturday. Leeds confirmed the arrest, saying the incident occurred in the first half of the match at Elland Road. – ESPN+ viewers’ guide: LaLiga,

8:38 AM ET Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Carlo Ancelotti has said he now does not consider Barcelona “a direct rival” for the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid top of the table and Barca 18 points behind them in eighth place. Madrid have won 10 consecutive games in all competitions — including against top four contenders

7:30 PM ET Roughly nine months since being left off the United States‘ Olympic qualifying roster, USMNT and FC Dallas striker Ricardo Pepi called the snub a turning point to his season. “It just made me hungry,” Pepi said Friday. “It made me hungry to go on for the year. To do good for my

5:30 PM ET Thomas Tuchel has urged Chelsea fans to rally behind his team after they were booed off against Everton but said he was struggling to explain their stuttering form. Chelsea fell four points behind leaders Manchester City on Thursday following a 1-1 draw with Everton which was greeted by jeers from some home

1:27 PM ET Bernardo Silva has been Manchester City’s key player this season, all this coming months after he was reportedly heading out of the club. Lynne Cameron/Manchester City Last season, we celebrated a number of players aged 27 or older who, like Ilkay Gundogan, had either pushed their respective games to new heights or thrived

4:56 PM ET LONDON — It felt like everyone involved in Chelsea‘s 1-1 draw with Everton was either chewing their fingernails, or holding on by them. Chelsea will lament the two points dropped and ground conceded in the title race, partly through their own profligacy but also due to a series of brilliant saves from

7:41 AM ET Thursday’s Premier League clash between Spurs and Leicester has been called off due to COVID-19 outbreaks. Photo by George Wood/Getty Images Tottenham Hotspur‘s trip to Leicester City on Thursday has become the latest Premier League fixture to be called off as the COVID-19 Omicron variant surges in the United Kingdom. Both clubs previously

9:47 AM ET The Premier League is about to embark on its busiest period of the season, with 40 games — plus all four Carabao Cup quarterfinals — due to be played in the space of 17 days starting this Saturday. But a resurgence of COVID-19 is threatening to wreak havoc on the fixture list.

1:01 PM ET PORTLAND, Ore. — For nearly two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has weighed heavy on Major League Soccer. The 2020 season barely got to the finish line in the wake of postponements and delays, while negotiations on a revised Collective Bargaining Agreement with the MLS Players Association meant a delay to the start