Soccer

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 8, 2024, 09:02 AM ET Close Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Open Extended Reactions The Year of Messi is upon us. After last year’s sneak peek into a Major League Soccer season with the greatest player of all time, a full offseason of anticipation

Adriana Garcia Feb 8, 2024, 04:46 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Enzo Fernández‘s agent has denied reports that the player wants to leave Chelsea this summer. Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League and look likely to miss out on Champions League football for a second straight season. Asked about media speculation that Fernández is

ESPN News Services Feb 7, 2024, 09:37 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The Hong Kong government demanded answers from Inter Miami CF and Lionel Messi on Wednesday after the Argentine played in a friendly in Japan just three days after missing a similar exhibition match in its country. Hong Kong’s Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau

Kyle Bonagura, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 7, 2024, 02:18 PM ET Close Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Open Extended Reactions Chicago Fire FC is finalizing a deal to sign United States men’s national team midfielder Kellyn Acosta, sources told ESPN. Acosta, who has appeared 34 times for the U.S. over

Open Extended Reactions Man United has been lucrative for the Glazers, but their off-field profitability has been overshadowed by on-field futility. Illustration by ESPN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND — “My money is in this pot and I’m not here to make more — I just want to win.” As a statement of intent, Sir Jim Ratcliffe had turned

Graham Hunter, Spain writerFeb 6, 2024, 09:03 AM ET Close Graham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team. Open Extended Reactions Following their 1-1 draw in the Madrid derbi, Atlético Madrid should have absolutely no chance of winning LaLiga. By the same token, though,

Open Extended Reactions José Mourinho’s name was sung at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. No, this isn’t a rewind to 2004 or 2014, during his two previous spells as Chelsea manager, but a snapshot of the here-and-now at a club in crisis. The reality is that, should Mauricio Pochettino pay the price for the team’s disastrous

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCFeb 5, 2024, 12:53 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Another big weekend in Europe’s top leagues didn’t disappoint when it came to major moments, significant results and plenty to review. In England‘s top-of-the-table clash between Liverpool and Arsenal, it was the Gunners who rose to the occasion and wrapped up

Connor O’Halloran Feb 5, 2024, 06:39 PM ET Open Extended Reactions LONDON — You never know exactly when Manchester City‘s domestic winning run will begin, only that it definitely will begin sometime. It usually starts around this time of year, when the season drifts towards its final third, when the title race starts to narrow

Open Extended Reactions Video Assistant Referee causes controversy every week in the Premier League, but how are decisions made, and are they correct? After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and the Laws of the Game. – How VAR

Open Extended Reactions LONDON — And then there were three. An afternoon that began with Arsenal facing the prospect of the Premier League leaders disappearing from view ended with a powerful statement of intent suggesting Mikel Arteta’s side can challenge Liverpool and Manchester City for the title. They have now beaten both at Emirates Stadium

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentFeb 4, 2024, 12:29 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — Whatever happens to Manchester United between now and the end of the season, manager Erik ten Hag can at least point to the emergence of Rasmus Højlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo as positives from an otherwise forgettable campaign. It was

 A hat-trick from Wolves forward Matheus Cunha again exposed Chelsea‘s defensive frailties as the visitors came from behind to record a 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday. Chelsea, who lost 4-1 at Liverpool in midweek, went ahead in the 20th minute through Cole Palmer. But two minutes later, Joao Gomes found Cunha whose shot took

Julien Laurens, CorrespondentFeb 3, 2024, 03:56 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Kylian Mbappé has decided to join Real Madrid once his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expires this summer, sources confirmed to ESPN. The news was first reported by Le Parisien. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.) Last month, ESPN reported that Mbappé had

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Feb 3, 2024, 04:33 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández pleaded with LaLiga referees to “let us compete” and claimed the Catalan club are “paying for the Negreira case” after Vitor Roque‘s red card in Saturday’s 3-1 win at Alavés. Roque was sent off just 13 minutes after

Feb 3, 2024, 06:28 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said his players are already giving 100% and do not need to take any further motivation from his looming departure to win the Premier League this season. Last month, the 56-year-old announced his decision to step down as Liverpool manager at

Feb 2, 2024, 04:55 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Atlético Madrid boss Diego Simeone has told ESPN he “understands” Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave Liverpool, and said that club management is a “continuous struggle” where a coach can reach “breaking point” if they don’t have the energy to carry on. Klopp announced last week that

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentFeb 2, 2024, 12:07 PM ET Open Extended Reactions There’s usually a lot for a manager to get through at the first news conference of the summer, and when Man United’s Erik ten Hag sat down in a private school auditorium in rural New Jersey in July, it was no different. But among