Football

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCNov 8, 2024, 11:22 AM ET Open Extended Reactions It’s time for a logical and decisive step to rebalance — and, to some degree, future-proof — Real Madrid. What does that mean? With news that they’re already considering big moves in the winter transfer window, it’s time to go big

Nov 8, 2024, 12:14 PM ET Open Extended Reactions France Football, the magazine that organises the Ballon d’Or award, has revealed the margin by which Manchester City midfielder Rodri controversially beat Real Madrid‘s Vinícius Júnior to the prestigious individual prize. Rodri won the Ballon d’Or with 1170 points, just 41 more than Vinícius (1129). Editor’s

Nov 6, 2024, 09:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Matchday 4 of the 2024-25 UEFA Champions League is in the books and the 36-team table is starting to take shape. Shock losses for Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain have set alarm bells ringing, while Viktor Gyökeres‘ three-goal performance against Manchester City has made the entire

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentNov 7, 2024, 06:40 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — Ruben Amorim still has to prepare for one more Sporting Lisbon game before taking over as Manchester United‘s new head coach, but Amad Diallo can only hope his soon-to-be boss was watching his performance against PAOK FC. The 22-year-old winger struggled

Open Extended Reactions When Arsenal announced Mikel Arteta had signed a new contract on Sept. 12, the Premier League club’s manager was effusive in his praise of sporting director Edu Gaspar. “He was the first one to knock on my door before I joined and he made a big call to put all the trust

Open Extended Reactions MILAN — The uncertainty around Arsenal grows. Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat to Internazionale is not a severe blow to their UEFA Champions League hopes, but it does make a top-eight finish and the automatic qualification that comes with it more doubtful. It continues a difficult week where uncertainty arose off the field in

ESPN Nov 6, 2024, 02:38 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Welcome to Matchday 4 of the 2024-25 Champions League season! Europe’s premier club competition returns in its new format with nine matches across the continent Wednesday, providing exciting matchups, top talent and drama. Enjoy the play-by-play from all the games as Internazionale host

Jeff Kassouf Nov 6, 2024, 09:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Just like the top four teams in the NWSL were vastly superior to the rest of the pack this season, there are (in this humble writer’s opinion) a few obvious choices for individual awards. That has been the story of this campaign: last year’s

Open Extended Reactions LIVERPOOL, England — Xabi Alonso said he “didn’t have time for tourism” ahead of his return to Liverpool as Bayer Leverkusen coach, but if he was planning for a happy homecoming, a 4-0 defeat and a humbling at the hands of the man who claimed the job that many wanted him to

Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCNov 5, 2024, 06:19 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Ten days after losing 4-0 in El Clásico, Real Madrid did not just need to beat AC Milan on Tuesday, they needed a statement win. There needed to be proof that this team was starting to gel, that coach Carlo Ancelotti had the

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentNov 5, 2024, 07:25 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Manchester United fans are in favour of building a new stadium rather than redeveloping Old Trafford, a club survey has revealed. The club are consulting supporters over a project which could end up costing £2 billion ($2.6bn). Fans were asked whether they would prefer

Open Extended Reactions Edu is widely regarded as a key reason for the club’s shift in fortunes under manager Mikel Arteta. Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images Arsenal sporting director Edu Gaspar will leave the club, a source has told ESPN. Edu joined Arsenal in July 2019 as technical director and led a culture shift at the club

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCNov 4, 2024, 07:53 AM ET Open Extended Reactions What a weekend of European soccer! We have Liverpool top of the Premier League again as Arsenal lost at Newcastle and Manchester City were defeated at Bournemouth. We saw Barcelona turn on the style again and defeat their local rivals Espanyol

Jeff Kassouf Nov 4, 2024, 09:43 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Imagine a cursed franchise or suffering fan base — say, the Cleveland Browns, to name one easy example. Now imagine that team putting together the best season in league history, rattling off 23 games without defeat. What sounds unthinkable is reality for the Orlando

Nov 3, 2024, 04:08 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Premier League season is only three months old, but this weekend may have gone some way to shaping how it will look come May. Manchester City? They’re no longer top after getting beaten by AFC Bournemouth. Arsenal? Not even in the top four following their

Nov 3, 2024, 02:24 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — Moisés Caicedo put the brakes on Manchester United‘s mini-revival under Ruud van Nistelrooy by earning a Premier League point for Chelsea with a stunning second-half volley in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Sunday. Van Nistelrooy, who is in charge as interim

Two second-half goals from Dominic Solanke and a sublime James Maddison free-kick helped Tottenham Hotspur come from behind to overwhelm Aston Villa 4-1 on Sunday and end the visitors’ seven-match unbeaten run in the Premier League. Spurs climbed to seventh in the table on 16 points, two points behind Villa who stayed fifth. Dominic Solanke

Open Extended Reactions NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, England — The handshakes were cursory and the celebrations prolonged. Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe said Saturday’s 1-0 win over Arsenal “means so much more” because of recent poor results, but there is another reason; Alexander Isak‘s 12th-minute header not only dented the Gunners’ Premier League title hopes, but also deepened