Soccer

Open Extended Reactions BIRMINGHAM, England — There’s a tough crowd at Birmingham City and Wayne Rooney has already experienced the wrath of the club’s long-suffering supporters, who booed him at the end of his first home game (a 2-0 loss to Hull City) as manager last month. Birmingham are a blue-collar team and proudly so,

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentNov 1, 2023, 07:52 PM ET Open Extended Reactions MANCHESTER, England — Midway through the first half, with Manchester United already 1-0 down, the 9,000 Newcastle fans inside Old Trafford started singing to United manager Erik ten Hag: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.” With the score at 2-0 before the end of

Manchester United were humbled 3-0 at home by Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup fourth round as their dismal start to the season took a serious turn for the worse on Wednesday. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag looked shocked on the sidelines as his team were booed off the pitch, with the Dutchman under

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentNov 1, 2023, 09:29 AM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions Although it’s been far from perfect, Christian Pulisic is the USMNT player who may be enjoying the best 2023-24 season in Europe thus far after a successful move to

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Oct 31, 2023, 11:37 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Barcelona are tracking Mexico international Santiago Giménez, although the Spanish champions are aware that competition for the striker will be high and Feyenoord will demand a big fee, a source told ESPN. Giménez, 22, has been in explosive form this season, scoring

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentOct 31, 2023, 06:30 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Erik ten Hag says he’s “certain” he can turn around Manchester United‘s fortunes after a disastrous start to the season. The derby defeat to Manchester City on Sunday was United’s seventh of the season after just 14 games. – Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga,

Tor-Kristian Karlsen, ESPNOct 31, 2023, 05:34 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Welcome back to the ESPN FC hot list, which each month highlights some of the most in-form talent aged 23 or under across Europe. Generally, young but established stars like Manchester City‘s Erling Haaland, Real Madrid‘s Jude Bellingham or Barcelona Gavi aren’t included —

Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerOct 30, 2023, 05:45 PM ET Open Extended Reactions While the Ballon d’Or itself has been presented in varying circumstances over the years, the core principle at its heart has remained unchanged. Ever since Sir Stanley Matthews became the inaugural winner in 1956, right up to Lionel Messi receiving the 2023

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Oct 30, 2023, 05:31 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Inter Miami CF star Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d’Or for a record eighth time, fending off competition from Manchester City striker Erling Haaland after leading Argentina to the World Cup last year. Messi, 36, becomes the first MLS-based player to

ESPN news services Oct 30, 2023, 07:43 AM ET FIFA banned ousted former Spanish football federation president Luis Rubiales from the sport for three years on Monday for misconduct at the Women’s World Cup final where he forcibly kissed Jenni Hermoso on the lips at the trophy ceremony. FIFA did not publish details of the

Open Extended Reactions Manager Erik ten Hag oversaw a poor Manchester United effort on Sunday, losing 3-0 in the derby to Man City. Michael Regan/Getty Images MANCHESTER, England — The endless takeover saga at Manchester United that is about to enter its 12th month has provided useful cover for Erik ten Hag’s shortcomings. The Glazers’ deliberations

Erling Haaland said he responded to taunts from Manchester United fans about the injury which finished his father’s playing career by scoring from the penalty spot in Manchester City‘s 3-0 derby win at Old Trafford. Haaland’s father, Alfie, suffered damaged knee ligaments following a foul by United captain Roy Keane during an Old Trafford derby

Graham Hunter, Spain writerOct 29, 2023, 05:00 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 Jude Bellingham, the man who won the Clasico for Real Madrid on Saturday, has got only one thing wrong since his transcendental €103

Oct 28, 2023, 06:36 PM ET Open Extended Reactions We’re heading towards the end of October and with that, the final weekend of matches for the month happening all across Europe. As always, there is drama and excitement within various storylines that go beyond the final scores of matches. On Friday, we saw Tottenham continue

Oct 28, 2023, 01:00 PM ET Open Extended Reactions BARCELONA, Spain — Real Madrid emerged as the comeback winners of Saturday’s Clasico against Barcelona thanks to the heroics of Jude Bellingham, whose two goals canceled out an early Barca goal at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. With the result, Barcelona have lost their first match of

Oct 28, 2023, 06:31 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Marcus Rashford remains a dangerous opponent despite the Manchester United forward’s underwhelming form this season, Manchester City captain Kyle Walker said ahead of Sunday’s Premier League derby. Rashford is struggling in front of goal for United this season, having netted once in 12 matches. But Walker

Tottenham Hotspur opened a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Crystal Palace as their unbeaten start to the season continued on Friday. Ange Postecoglou’s side were matched by London rivals Palace throughout an even opening period but took charge once a Joel Ward own goal gave them

Oct 27, 2023, 11:33 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Philadelphia and New England will take part in one of the tighter Round 1 matchups of this year’s MLS Cup playoffs. Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports Major League Soccer is returning to the sort of postseason format with which American fans will be intimately familiar: a best-of-three series.