Josef Martinez helped Atlanta United equal an MLS record in a 7-0 thrashing of New England Revolution, while Vancouver Whitecaps moved top.
Martinez scored a hat-trick at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as Atlanta equalled the largest margin of victory in MLS history.
It took just 73 seconds for Martinez to open the scoring, the Venezuela international finishing powerfully from an angle.
New England were reduced to 10 men in the 16th minute as midfielder Xavier Kouassi was shown a straight red card.
The visitors outing would get much worse, Martinez scoring two penalties – both times after handballs – and Antonio Delamea Mlinar seeing red for giving away the second spot-kick.
It was 4-0 before half-time as Anton Walkes struck, and Atlanta would net thre…
James Rodriguez has not torn a muscle but has swelling in his calf, the Federacion Colombiana de Futbol (FCF) has confirmed.
The midfielder limped out of Colombia s 1-0 win over Senegal that booked a World Cup last-16 clash with England.
Bayern Munich star James was therefore considered a doubt for Tuesday s game in Moscow.
And Colombia confirmed in a statement that James has undergone a scan on the injury.
Results showed that he has a minor edema without a fibrillar rupture in the right soleus, the FCF said.
James was the Golden Boot winner at Brazil 2014 as Colombia reached the quarter-finals.
Colombia are set to train in a behind-closed-doors session on Sunday.
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Borussia Dortmund failed to kickstart their Champions League campaign as they had to settle for a 1-1 draw at APOEL on Tuesday.
Having lost to Tottenham and Real Madrid to sit bottom of Group H, Peter Bosz s side needed to make up ground in the battle to qualify for the knockout stages.
However, a club famed for their Yellow Wall struggled to break down opponents wearing the same-coloured shirts in Cyprus and they remain six points behind Real and Tottenham.
They needed a towering header from Sokratis Papastathopoulos just to pick up a point on their travels, the defender sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Roman Burki, who gifted APOEL the lead.
The Switzerland international s careless pass presented Lorenzo Ebecilio with possession and although …
Verdict: Mo Salah to score anytime
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Having both been frustrated with respective results at the weekend, both Liverpool and WBA will be highly motivated to turn a corner in their midweek fixture.
Reds need a swift return to high-tempo football following the Merseyside derby stalemate, whereas Alan Pardew is facing a difficult reality of his new gig at West Bromwich.
Liverpool
The Reds are coming off from a frustrating weekend in the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s men put in a low-tempo display which came as a huge contrast to their high-intensity performances witnessed over the past few weeks. Liverpool scored whopping 15 goals in their last three matches prior to the Merseyside derby and were widely expected to co…
Alvaro Morata believes he has returned to Real Madrid as a more mature player.
Despite impressing after breaking into the Madrid first team in 2010, Morata was moved on to Juventus in 2014.
The 23-year-old claimed two successive Scuddeti with Juve and developed a penchant for scoring in big matches, prompting his former club to exercise their buy-back option.
Reports suggested Madrid were likely to sell Morata on at a profit, but coach Zinedine Zidane insisted he was at the Santiago Bernabeu to stay.
The striker feels his time in Turin helped him bloom, and he is now willing to give everything for his boyhood club.
It is a day of great joy for me. I m back at home. It has been two long years and a long wait to return, said Morata at his presenta…
Newcastle United are interested in signing Amine Gouiri from Nice in the summer transfer window, according to. It has been reported by the Italian news outlet that Premier League outfit Newcastle are among the clubs who are keeping tabs on Gouiri.
Gouiri has been on the books of Nice since the summer of 2020 when he joined from French rivals Lyon. The 22-year-old striker has made 21 starts and four substitute appearances in Ligue 1 so far this season, scoring 10 goals and providing seven assists in the process. The Nice no. 11 scored 12 goals and gave seven assists in 31 league starts during the 2020-21 campaign. The striker also scored four goals in five Europa League matches last season.
Newcastle are 17th in the Premier League table at the moment with 22 points from …
Prediction: Iceland win
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While the international break may not be particularly thrilling for most fans, this time around, there s something to play for. Eight nations are set to battle it out for four places in next year s UEFA Euro 2021 tournament as the play-offs finally come to an end. There s still a whole lot of uncertainty in the air when it comes to figuring out what Euro 2021 is actually going to look like next summer, but for now, all that Hungary and Iceland will care about is qualifying.
Hungary
Hungary were once considered to be the best national team in world football but as we all know, that hasn t been the case for a long time. Still, they ve managed to piece together an exciting enough squad and as we look ahead…
A plane carrying a banner calling for Ed Woodward to leave Manchester United has been flown over Turf Moor ahead of their Premier League clash with Burnley.
The banner, bearing the message Ed Woodward A Specialist In Failure was seen flying over the stadium in the hour before kick-off on Sunday.
It is a reference to Jose Mourinho s description of former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger as a specialist in failure while he was at Chelsea back in 2014.
The flyover was reportedly due to take place ahead of Monday s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford but was postponed due to light restrictions.
It is the first such protest by Red Devils fans since a plane carrying a Wrong One Moyes Out message flew over Old Trafford in March 2014, calling for the sacking of th…
Reece James will miss up to a month with his latest knee injury, scans have revealed.
The Chelsea right-back returned to action against Bournemouth on Tuesday, having been out since October and missed England s World Cup campaign.
But James lasted just over 50 minutes before going down clutching his knee again.
Coach Graham Potter was concerned due to the injury occurring in the same place as the previous issue, and Chelsea have confirmed James has suffered a setback.
Defender Reece James underwent assessment earlier today after being substituted during the second half of last night s 2-0 Premier League victory over AFC Bournemouth due to a knee injury, a statement read on Wednesday.
Stay strong, Reece.
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC)
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Italy full-back Leonardo Spinazzola has set his sights on the quickest recovery possible after a ruptured Achilles tendon ended his Euro 2020.
Spinazzola had been one of the standout performers in the tournament and made a vital goal-line block to deny Romelu Lukaku during the Azzurri s thrilling 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium in Munich.
But the Roma defender, who suffered cruciate ligament damage in May 2018 and has endured frequent fitness problems during his career, will miss the semi-final meeting with Spain after pulling up before full-time and needing a stretcher to leave the field.
Italy s Twitter account shared a video of Spinazzola s team-mates serenading him on their flight home and the 28-year-old tapped into that positive attitude in an Instagram …