Month: February 2024

ESPN Feb 21, 2024, 02:04 PM ET Email Print Open Extended Reactions Champions League soccer is back for the round of 16! Europe’s premier club competition returns with two matches on Wednesday, as Porto face Arsenal and Napoli take on Barcelona. We’re also covering the Premier League clash between Liverpool and Luton Town as the

Open Extended Reactions PORTO, Portugal — Mikel Arteta believes his Arsenal side are detached from the club’s historical catalogue of UEFA Champions League round-of-16 exits, but another one beckons if they cannot embrace the occasion better than this. The Gunners will back themselves to overturn a 1-0 deficit from Wednesday’s first-leg defeat against Porto, but

Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Al Nassr advanced to the quarterfinals of the Asian Champions League on Wednesday as the Riyadh-based side beat fellow Saudi Pro League outfit Al Fayha 2-0 to complete a 3-0 aggregate victory. Portugal winger Otavio scored in the 17th minute to build on last week’s 1-0 win before Ronaldo added a late second,

Jeff Carlisle, U.S. soccer correspondentFeb 21, 2024, 01:27 PM ET Close Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. Open Extended Reactions United Soccer League (USL) CEO Paul McDonough expressed disappointment at the U.S. Soccer Federation’s handling of a dispute involving MLS and the 2024 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, which

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentFeb 21, 2024, 11:59 AM ET Open Extended Reactions New Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has said he wants to break the dominance of Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League and believes he can do it in three years. Ratcliffe’s 27.7% stake was formally signed off on Tuesday, and

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Feb 21, 2024, 06:46 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández felt his side lacked maturity as the Spanish champions were held to a “bittersweet” 1-1 draw by Napoli at the Stadio Maradona on Wednesday in the Champions League round-of-16. Robert Lewandowski gave Barça the lead on the hour

Feb 21, 2024, 07:04 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said their stunning Champions League comeback against Barcelona in 2019 provided the inspiration for his injury-hit squad to beat Luton Town at Anfield on Wednesday. Klopp said he promised his team a few months ago that he would never use as an

Rob Dawson, CorrespondentFeb 21, 2024, 03:54 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Manchester United fear Luke Shaw could be set for months on the sidelines with an injury that cut short his involvement in the 2-1 win over Luton Town, a source has told ESPN. Shaw started the game at Kenilworth Road on Sunday, but was

FC Porto snatched a shock last-gasp 1-0 victory against Arsenal with Galeno netting a sublime effort deep in stoppage time in their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Wednesday. A drab clash was deadlocked until the fifth minute of added time when Galeno curled an unstoppable effort past David Raya to send the Estadio Do Dragao