Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCOct 22, 2024, 06:46 PM ET Carlo Ancelotti praised Vinícius Júnior‘s “extraordinary character” and “energy” after the Ballon d’Or contender scored a second-half hat trick in Real Madrid’s 5-2 Champions League comeback win over Borussia Dortmund. Madrid trailed 0-2 at halftime at Santiago Bernabeu — after Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens scored…
Oct 22, 2024, 06:34 PM ET Three straight wins, no goals conceded and top of the league on maximum points. Aston Villa’s first ever appearance in the Champions League couldn’t be going any better. Villa’s 2-0 home win over Bologna on Tuesday maintained the 100% start to the English team’s first campaign in Europe’s top…
Alex Kirkland, ESPN FCOct 22, 2024, 06:12 PM ET MADRID — “Our crown, our trophy,” read the banner, held up by fans behind the Santiago Bernabeu’s south goal before kickoff. Real Madrid are the reigning European champions, the 15-time UEFA Champions League winners, and, of course, the comeback kings, as they showed once again in…
Mikel Arteta fears Riccardo Calafiori could join Arsenal’s mounting injury list but vowed the Gunners “will be flying” against Liverpool on Sunday. Calafiori limped out of Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk at Emirates Stadium 18 minutes from the end after falling awkwardly on his right leg. The Italian defender, a £42 million…
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinícius Júnior grabbed a hat trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday. In a rematch of last-season’s final, Dortmund lit up the game with a two-goal blitz around the half-hour mark from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens…
Oct 22, 2024, 04:25 PM ET Liverpool’s injury issues continue to mount with striker Diogo Jota added to an already lengthy list of absentees ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League game at RB Leipzig, manager Arne Slot said on Tuesday. Jota was forced off the pitch after 30 minutes of Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League victory over…
Oct 22, 2024, 11:29 AM ET Welcome to matchday three of the 2024-25 Champions League season! Europe’s premier club competition returns in its new format with nine matches across the continent on Tuesday, providing exciting matchups, top talent and drama. Enjoy the play-by-play from all the games with a repeat of last season’s final as…
Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentOct 22, 2024, 03:23 PM ET Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany says it is exceptional that Barcelona have potentially found a Lionel Messi replacement in Lamine Yamal so soon after the Argentine left the club. Messi, now at Inter Miami, left Barça in 2021, with Yamal, a left-footed attacker who plays on…
Graham Hunter, Spain writerOct 22, 2024, 09:42 AM ET Close Graham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team. The rarified atmosphere around Barcelona which encompasses their often myopic, hysterical media, their downtrodden and traumatised fans, plus a directorate which has spent more time baling…
Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates have already secured MLS’ Supporters’ Shield, and they’re currently the heavy MLS Cup favorites in the playoffs, but even the demigod of soccer himself will miss out on one trophy this season: The Wooden Spoon. Conceptualized, created and maintained by die-hard fans, the trophy is managed by the…