So, Manchester City s Premier League champagne remains on ice after a 2-1 defeat against Chelsea but what, if anything, did the phoney war tell us?
Raheem Sterling s first club goal since February put City ahead during a magnificently silly ending to the first half, which wrapped up with Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy being able to go to ground, get back up and still have time to catch Sergio Aguero s gentle interpretation of a Panenka.
Hakim Ziyech, as he did in the Blues 1-0 win over City in last month s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, found the net and Chelsea looked the most likely winners from that point.
Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi each had the ball in the net from offside positions before Marcos Alonso did so legally with a scuffed effort in stoppa…
Robert Lewandowski famously scored five goals in just nine minutes for Bayern Munich against Wolfsburg five years ago today.
The Poland international achieved the astonishing feat on September 22, 2015 in a match that ultimately finished 5-1 to Bayern.
A half-time substitute, Lewandowski s heroics ensured Bayern came from behind to thrash Wolfsburg at the Allianz Arena.
Here, we look at the story behind one of the finest moments of Lewandowski s career.
.: The coach didn t have to say anything I knew what I had to do.
— FC Bayern English (@FCBayernEN)
WHAT HAPPENED
Then a 27-year-old, Lewandowski was introduced at half-time and fired in a four-minute hat-trick before adding two more in a breathless spell from Bayern.
Maradona s spell was rather less controversial than at Al-Wasl and on the pitch things went better, losing just once in 23 matches. However, a haul of 11 draws proved costly, as Maradona left by mutual consent after failing to guide the club to automatic promotion.
Dorados de Sinaloa – 2018-19
Another eye-catching move followed for Maradona, as he headed to Mexico s Ascenso MX, the country s second division. Some people said Maradona s useless, he raged after 4-1 debut win and he went on to lead Dorados to the Apertura and Clausura finals.
They suffered defeat to Atletico San Luis in both ties, with Maradona appearing to aim a punch at an opposing fan in post-match fracas after the Apertura defeat. Of his 41 games at the helm, Maradona claimed 20 wins (48.8 pe…
Austin ended a run of eight matches without victory by crushing Portland Timbers 4-1 in MLS.
Not since May 1 had Austin won a game but that changed on Thursday thanks to Jon Gallagher, Diego Fagundez, Alexander Ring and Hector Jimenez.
Austin – who have Hollywood star Matt McConaughey as part of their ownership group – also celebrated their first victory at Q2 Stadium.
Josh Wolff s Austin had become the third team in MLS history to fail to score in the first two home matches in franchise history after the New York Red Bulls (then-MetroStars) in 1996 and the Miami Fusion in 1998 – New York s first home goal came in the 72nd minute of their third home match (Cle Kooiman own goal), while Miami s was scored in the 27th minute of their third home match by Jerry …
Martin Tyler says he knew Sergio Aguero would score the goal to win Manchester City the Premier League in 2012 as soon as he touched the ball.
Aguero, who announced his retirement on Wednesday due to a heart condition, scored the decisive goal in the 95th minute of City s last game of the season against Queens Park Rangers to seal a 3-2 win that earned them their maiden Premier League title.
City finished with 89 points that year, the same as local rivals Manchester United, but claimed the trophy on goal difference.
Commentator Tyler marked the occasion with an iconic piece of commentary, and is keen to credit his colleagues for their part in helping him frame the moment.
I have to pay compliments to my Sky colleagues and the director Tony Mills, who…
Lionel Messi brought up another remarkable career landmark when he scored his 600th club goal against Liverpool, crowning a 3-0 Champions League semi-final win.
Although Cristiano Ronaldo beat Messi to the milestone on Saturday, Messi did not take long to follow his great rival and remind the world why his fifth-place finish in last year s Ballon d Or standings bordered on the ludicrous.
Trying to pick out the best of his 600 club goals is fiendishly difficult, but we have done our utmost to present a chronological top 10.
Albacete (H): May 1, 2005
Even at 17, Messi had the confidence of a veteran. Having already had one goal wrongly ruled out for offside an audacious chip from the edge of the box Messi s confidence was far from knocked and j…
Massimiliano Allegri warned Torino will be preparing for the match of their lifetime against Juventus in Saturday s Serie A clash.
After opening their campaign without a win in four league games, Juve finally picked up a victory against Spezia before defeating Sampdoria to string together back-to-back 3-2 triumphs.
Federico Chiesa then inspired Juve against Chelsea as he fired in the fastest second-half goal in Champions League history, claiming a 1-0 win as Allegri s resurgent players continue to turn around their season around.
However, the Bianconeri have conceded in each of their last 20 top-flight games – only conceding more consecutively in 1955 (21) – and Allegri warned that local rivals Torino could prove tougher opponents than Chelsea.
For …
Inter Milan have opened talks with the representatives of Nicolo Barella over a new contract, according to .
The midfielder started his football journey at the youth setup at Cagliari, and having reached the first team in 2014, he had a brief loan spell with Como. Inter signed him on an initial loan in the summer of 2019, and the deal was turned into a permanent one a year later for a reported fee of just over €32 million. All told, the 24-year-old has 96 appearances in all competitions for the Nerazzurri, with eight goals and 26 assists to his name. He also has six goals in 31 caps as an Italy international.
Barella has been a subject of reported interest from numerous potential suitor clubs, and even though his current deal has little less than three years left to r…
Jose Mourinho fumed at the officials after Roma suffered a 2-0 defeat to Fiorentina in Serie A, demanding an explanation for multiple decisions he claims have gone against the Giallorossi.
Nicolas Gonzalez s penalty and a strike from Giacomo Bonaventura condemned Roma to a second defeat in their past three league games – as many as Mourinho s team had suffered in their previous 17 – as Fiorentina drew level with the Giallorossi in the race for a European spot.
Although Roma sealed a place in the Europa Conference League final by beating Leicester City last Thursday, their hopes of a top-six league finish are under threat after going four league games without a win for the first time under Mourinho.
However, while the former Chelsea boss admitted his side …
LaLiga president Javier Tebas has apologised for suggesting Vinicius Junior was being “manipulated” when the Real Madrid winger called out racism he has suffered in Spain.
The Brazil international took to social media to speak out after being abused in Sunday’s game at Valencia, saying it was a problem he had endured throughout the league.
Tebas’ response on Twitter, in which he said “Before you criticise and insult LaLiga, you need to inform yourself well, Vini Jr. Don’t let yourself be manipulated”, was roundly criticised for not addressing the issue and the LaLiga boss has now said sorry.
“I think that the message, and the intention I had, was not understood by a significant number (of people), especially in Brazil,” he told ESPN Brazil.
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