Football

Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER — It was one of the weirdest scenes of a strange season at Manchester United. Moments after sealing a 5-2 Carabao Cup win against Leicester City at Old Trafford in the first game following the firing of manager Erik ten Hag, the players performed a lap of honour before leaving the

Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes scored two goals apiece as Manchester United eased into the Carabao Cup quarterfinals with a breathless 5-2 victory over Leicester City on Wednesday, their first game since the sacking of manager Erik ten Hag. United’s interim manager Ruud van Nistelrooy had promised excitement and goals in his first match in charge,

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentOct 30, 2024, 05:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Before the Abu Dhabi takeover in 2008 transformed Manchester City into a European superpower, things were very different for the youngsters growing up with dreams of playing for the first team. Thomas Krucken is City’s youth academy director, but for a year in the

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentOct 29, 2024, 09:31 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Erik ten Hag craved control at Manchester United but it meant that, with problems piling up, there was nowhere to hide. In the end, his fingerprints were all over too much of the failure — there were no excuses left — and Sunday’s 2-1

Jeff Kassouf Oct 29, 2024, 04:05 PM ET Open Extended Reactions United States women’s national team head coach Emma Hayes has criticized the Ballon d’Or ceremony being held during a women’s FIFA window. Hayes picked up the inaugural Ballon d’Or for best women’s coach on Monday but, along with most players and coaches from the

Tor-Kristian Karlsen, ESPNOct 29, 2024, 04:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Arsenal operate with a smaller squad than most, and this season has seen manager Mikel Arteta call a number of youth-team players onto his bench as backup. With injuries to stars like Martin Ødegaard, Gabriel Magalhães, Riccardo Calafiori and Jurriën Timber to worry about,

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCOct 28, 2024, 12:17 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The European soccer weekend is over, but we have so much to talk about as a result — where to begin? How about Barcelona‘s young stars visiting Real Madrid in El Clasico and emerging 4-0 winners to take a six-point lead

Oct 28, 2024, 05:44 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been awarded the Ballon d’Or after a stellar season that saw him pick up silverware with both club and country. Rodri was handed the award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, organised by the French magazine France Football in collaboration

ESPN Oct 28, 2024, 07:51 AM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Erik ten Hag has been sacked as Manchester United manager following Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League defeat against West Ham United, the club announced on Monday. Jarrod Bowen scored a stoppage-time penalty to leave United 14th in the table with only three wins from

Oct 27, 2024, 07:44 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Another entertaining weekend of European football action is in the books, with the main headlines going to Barcelona, sending a statement to Real Madrid with a 4-0 thrashing at the Santiago Bernabeu to remain top of LaLiga. Meanwhile in the Premier League, Arsenal were unable to

Jeff Kassouf Oct 24, 2024, 07:30 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The Emma Hayes era of the U.S. women’s national team got off to a fairy-tale start this summer, when the Americans returned to the top of the podium in Paris for the program’s fifth Olympic gold medal. Now comes Hayes’ primary assignment. She was

Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Oct 27, 2024, 07:16 AM ET Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid in a devestating 4-0 win at the Bernabéu on Saturday. David Ramos/Getty Images LaLiga will report racist insults aimed at Barcelona‘s players during the Clásico to police and prosecutors, the league said on Sunday. Video footage appeared to show Lamine Yamal being

Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentOct 26, 2024, 06:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti was unhappy with how Barcelona‘s bench celebrated their fourth goal after seeing his side beaten 4-0 in Saturday’s Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu. Robert Lewandowski scored twice, with Lamine Yamal and Raphinha also finding the net as Barça

Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentOct 26, 2024, 05:50 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MADRID — Robert Lewandowski scored twice, while Lamine Yamal and Raphinha tallied goals each, as Barcelona capped a remarkable week by routing Real Madrid 4-0 in Saturday’s Clásico at the Santiago Bernabéu. With the lopsided loss, Real Madrid saw their 42-game unbeaten streak

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentOct 25, 2024, 04:22 PM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions Following the U.S. Soccer Federation’s settlement of an equal pay lawsuit with players from the U.S. women’s national team in 2022, the organization reached a second, previously undisclosed, financial

Associated Press Oct 26, 2024, 12:16 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Lionel Messi had chances at goals time and time again, only to keep being denied. Turns out, all he needed to do was deliver the right pass at the right time. Jordi Alba turned a pass from Messi into the go-ahead goal in the

Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentOct 25, 2024, 04:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Hansi Flick has been involved in some of the biggest games in football as a player, assistant coach and manager, but Saturday’s trip to Real Madrid — his first Clásico as Barcelona boss — may end up topping the lot. Those who have

Open Extended Reactions Can the ultimate team player ever hope to win the Ballon d’Or, the most prized individual award in football? That is the question being asked of Rodri, the Manchester City and Spain midfielder, and he will discover the answer when the 2024 winner is announced at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris