Soccer

Open Extended Reactions Pep Guardiola is a difficult man to read. The Manchester City manager can often betray a sense of false modesty, suggesting that incredible achievements are beyond his team before watching his players do what he had initially said would be impossible. Last season’s treble success was a prime example of that. Perhaps

Lars Sivertsen Feb 12, 2024, 04:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Man City’s Champions League opponents FC Copenhagen know how to handle Europe’s biggest clubs, including Man United and Barcelona. How do they do it? Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images A little over four months ago, a dejected and disgruntled Manchester United team trudged

Ed Dove & Colin Udoh Feb 11, 2024, 07:59 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Ivory Coast have won the Africa Cup of Nations after a 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Sunday. Sébastien Haller scored the winning goal for the hosts in the 81st minute with an

Open Extended Reactions LONDON — Redemption is rarely more emphatic than this. It is a familiar trope of Mikel Arteta’s tenure as Arsenal manager to use past disappointments to fuel future successes, and Sunday’s stunning 6-0 win at West Ham United in the Premier League was a devastating statement of how effective that tool can

Alex Kirkland Rodrigo Faez Feb 10, 2024, 04:09 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Girona coach Míchel admitted that his team “aren’t in Real Madrid‘s league” after Madrid thrashed them 4-0 on Saturday in a result which Carlo Ancelotti called a “big blow for the LaLiga title.” Vinícius Júnior opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu

Bill Connelly, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 10, 2024, 05:20 PM ET Close Bill Connelly is a staff writer for ESPN.com. Open Extended Reactions In his Friday press conference before the biggest Bayer Leverkusen match in ages, manager Xabi Alonso was told about a quote from Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel earlier in the day. “We’re playing

Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen outplayed champions Bayern Munich for a 3-0 victory on Saturday that sent them five points clear at the top of the league and put them firmly in charge of the title race. The hosts, who have never won a Bundesliga title, struck in the 16th minute through Josip Stanisic – on loan

Feb 9, 2024, 09:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The Rheinland prides itself on a fun-loving approach to life most of the time, but especially in the week of Karneval. It so happens that this flamboyant, multi-day festival of outlandish costumes, inebriation and generally forgetting about mundane everyday humdrum, coincides with the highly serious business

ESPN News Services Feb 9, 2024, 03:09 PM ET Open Extended Reactions An Argentina friendly in China next month was canceled on Friday in more fallout from Lionel Messi failing to play in an Inter Miami exhibition match in Hong Kong. World Cup champion Argentina, captained by Messi, last month scheduled a tour of China

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentFeb 9, 2024, 11:29 AM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions Reyna is now in the Premier League until the end of the 2023-24 season, where he should get a chance to find form ahead of the USMNT’s busy summer. Ritchie

Adriana Garcia Feb 9, 2024, 05:57 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to rub an item of team merchandise on his crotch following Al Nassr‘s 2-0 defeat to rival Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal on Thursday. Items of blue and white Al Hilal merchandise were thrown at Ronaldo as the Al Nassr

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCFeb 8, 2024, 10:43 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Those who love transfers and the excitement of Deadline Day “will they, won’t they” wheeling and dealing were distinctly underwhelmed last week, particularly if they were Premier League fans. Take a look at the game’s biggest clubs (as defined by revenue)

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,