US U-18 player Tweets photo signing contract with Atletico Madrid

By Nicholas MendolaApr 7, 2014, 8:32 PM EDT

His name is Dembakwi Yomba and he’s apparently headed to one of the biggest clubs in the world, according to his own Twitter profile.

Days after Marquette University let it be known that their recruit, U-18 striker Andrija Novakovich, would be forgoing college to sign with Reading in England’s Championship division, Yomba posted this photo on Twitter.

Still doesn’t feel real. Blessed is an understatement. #Atleti🇪🇸⚽️ pic.twitter.com/qe5QDkg25I

— Boxi (@Boxi07) April 8, 2014

Yomba, a Georgia resident born in Sierra Leone, was one of the top-rated Class of 2015 high school players in the United States. He has played for the U-17 national team and was called up to the U-18 side along with Novakovich earlier this year.

The player does not turn 18 until Sept. 4. He was listed as a commitment to the University of North Carolina.

Follow @nicholasmendola

Liverpool cruises past Rangers with arrow free kick from Alexander-Arnold

By Nicholas Mendola and Joe Prince-WrightOct 4, 2022, 5:45 PM EDT

Liverpool dominated packed-in Rangers, cruising to a 2-0 win at Anfield in UEFA Champions League group stage play.

[ LIVE: Champions League scores, stats ]

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a gorgeous free kick and Mohamed Salah converted a penalty to account for a 2-0 lead, and the Reds only allowed three shot attempts to their Glaswegian visitors. Not one of those attempts were on target.

Liverpool’s six points through three matches are three fewer than Napoli and three more than Ajax. Rangers have yet to claim a point ahead of a return match with Liverpool in Glasgow.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

What we learned from Liverpool vs Rangers

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s attacking flair has not been affected by defensive struggles: The English right back was poor at the back in a weekend draw with Brighton that followed an international break that saw him with England but not on the pitch. How would he react with a chance to do something special from a dead ball? Pretty darn well, sending an arrow into the upper 90 and giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead.

Better luck next time, Rangers: Glasgow Rangers’ run to the 2021-22 Europa League Final fueled the hope tank ahead of Champions League qualifying, and Giovanni von Bronckhorst led the team to the group stage and a tricky trio of opponents. So far, so ouch. Rangers lost 4-0 to Ajax in Amsterdam and had 25% of the ball. They hung tough with Napoli in Glasgow until a James Sands’ red card helped the Neapolitans to a 3-0 win. Now a 2-0 loss with 36% of the ball and a 21-3 attempt disadvantage? Woof.

Trent Alexander free kick goal video

TRENT. TOP CORNER. 🚀 pic.twitter.com/n8g0x8Wu4p

— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 4, 2022

Jurgen Klopp reaction: We changed things. It helped Trent.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says that there’s not a problem with Trent Alexander-Arnold’s defensive ability at right back.

Klopp says that if it appears he is struggling, that’s because he’s exposed by his teammates and the other team.

While that might seems like there’s a problem with his defensive ability, well, we would understand why you would think that, but he’s Jurgen Klopp admitting that there was a problem that included Trent Alexander-Arnold defending, so they changed their formation to make it better for him, and now there is still no problem.

JK, JK.

“There is no problem with defending,” Klopp said of Alexander-Arnold. “In good moments everything is fine. If there is no protection it looks like he is exposed. We changed it a little bit today.”

And Klopp is thrilled with the clean sheet following a 3-3 draw with Brighton at the weekend.

“We expected a reaction. Everyone expected a reaction. We really want to turn this into a positive and for that we need consistency. For that, you need top-class defending and we had that tonight. It worked out pretty well.”

How to watch Liverpool vs Rangers live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 3pm ET, Tuesday
TV Channel: TUDN, Paramount+
Online: Updates via NBCSports.com

Key storylines

Defensively Liverpool are really struggling and Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold in particular look way off their usual standards. However, it’s not just about the defense. From front to back Liverpool haven’t matched their usual energy levels so far this season and after so much success over the last few seasons it’s very strange to watch them play this way. As for Glasgow Rangers, they’re hoping to make it difficult for Liverpool and have players who can hurt teams, especially on the counter. This will be a very tough assignment for the Scottish giants but they know they have to get something from these two games in a week against Liverpool to have any chance of keeping their European hopes alive for the rest of this season.

In-form players to keep an eye on

Liverpool’s Luis Diaz has been one of their most consistent players so far this season, while Roberto Firmino scored two at the weekend and goalkeeper Alisson bailed them out against Brighton as they could have easily lost at home. For Rangers, Antonio Colak has scored four goals in his last two league games and he is one to watch in attack.

The lowdown on Rangers

It has not been a great start to the season for Glasgow Rangers either as their arduous path through the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds impacted their form. They were hammered 4-0 by Celtic in the league and defensively they aren’t as well-organized as they were under Steven Gerrard. Young USMNT duo James Sands and Malik Tillman are options at center back and in an attacking midfield role respectively and both need a big few months if they’re going to get in Gregg Berhalter’s squad for the World Cup. Rangers have some very experienced players in Steven Davis, Alfredo Morales, Allan McGregor and James Tavernier and don’t forget, they reached the UEFA Europa League final last season and could have easily won it. They are the kind of team that can pull off an upset and click for 15-20 minute periods in a game. That will frighten Klopp.

Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options

Klopp has a few injury issues to contend with as Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita remain out, while Andy Robertson and Curtis Jones are also out. Ibrahima Konate and Calvin Ramsay are back in training though. As for lineup options, Klopp will go with Salah and Firmino in attack but Diogo Jota, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz could come in after all three were on the bench at the weekend. In defense it will be intriguing to see if Alexander-Arnold is given a rest and Joe Gomez starts at right back.

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

UEFA Champions League: How to watch, predictions, updates, scores, schedule, fixtures

By Joe Prince-WrightOct 4, 2022, 5:10 PM EDT

The 2022-23 UEFA Champions League group stage is here and we are ready to roll between now and November.

With a congested schedule due to the 2022 World Cup kicking off in November, we will have midweek Champions League action every week between now and early November (aside from the international break in late September).

[ LIVE: Champions League scores ]

Can Real Madrid win back-to-back Champions League titles? Or will the Premier League giants continue to reach the final (at least one PL team has reached four of the last five finals with two all-English finals in the last four) and go one better this season?

Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Inter Milan are together in the “group of death,” while Tottenham were handed a (relatively) easy draw with Eintracht Frankfurt, Sporting CP and Marseille in Group D. Manchester City will face perennial European noise-makers in Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla in Group G, while PSG and Juventus were paired up in Group H.

Rangers are back in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2010, joining bitter Glasgow rivals Celtic to give the Scottish Premiership two clubs in the UCL group stage for the first time in 15 years.

Elsewhere, Benfica, Copenhagen, Dinamo Zagreb, Viktoria Plzen and Maccabi Haifi made it through the playoffs, while this is the first time the Bundesliga has had five teams in the group stage after Frankfurt won the Europa League last season to qualify.

Below is everything you need following the UEFA Champions League group stage.

UEFA Champions League schedule, dates, how to watch

Dates: Group stage to be played September to November
Online: Live updates via NBCSports.com
How to watch: TUDN, Paramount+

Champions League group stage fixtures (all kick off times ET)

Matchday 3

Tuesday, 4 October
Bayern Munich 5-0 Viktoria Plzen
Marseille 4-1 Sporting CP
Liverpool 2-0 Rangers
Ajax 1-6 Napoli
Porto 2-0 Leverkusen
Club Brugge 2-0 Atletico Madrid
Inter Milan 1-0 Barcelona
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur

Wednesday, 5 October
Salzburg vs Dinamo Zagreb (12:45)
Leipzig vs Celtic (12:45)
Chelsea vs AC Milan (3:00)
Real Madrid vs Shakhtar (3:00)
Man City vs Copenhagen (3:00)
Sevilla vs Dortmund (3:00)
Juventus vs Maccabi Haifa (3:00)
Benfica vs Paris (3:00)

JPW’s Champions League predictions – Matchday 3

Tuesday, 4 October
Bayern 4-1 Plzen
Marseille 2-2 Sporting CP
Liverpool 4-2 Rangers
Ajax 2-2 Napoli
Porto 1-2 Leverkusen
Club Brugge 1-2 Atletico
Inter 1-1 Barcelona
Frankfurt 1-2 Tottenham

Wednesday, 5 October
Salzburg 2-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Leipzig 3-1 Celtic
Chelsea 2-1 AC Milan
Real Madrid 3-1 Shakhtar
Man City 4-1 Copenhagen
Sevilla 2-1 Dortmund
Juventus 3-1 Maccabi Haifa
Benfica 1-4 Paris

Matchday 1

Tuesday, 6 September
Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 Chelsea — Highlights, Tuchel’s furious response
Dortmund 3-0 Copenhagen — WATCH: Reyna’s two assists
Salzburg 1-1 AC Milan — Dest makes Milan debut off bench
Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid — Carter-Vickers’ Bhoys eventually falter
Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar — Ukrainians off to rollicking start
Sevilla 0-4 Man City– Highlights, Guardiola’s glowing reaction
Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 Juventus — McKennie scores in loss
Benfica 2-0 Maccabi Haifa — Cohen makes 3 saves in loss

Wednesday, 7 September
Ajax 4-0 Rangers — Dutch giants hammer Gers as Alvarez gets ball rolling
Frankfurt 0-3 Sporting CP — Portuguese giants led by Edwards’ opener
Napoli 4-1 Liverpool — Highlights as Klopp’s boys run ragged
Atletico 2-1 Porto — Griezmann scores 101st minute winner amid late drama
Club Brugge 1-0 Leverkusen — Sylla seals big win for Belgian champs
Barcelona 5-1 Plzen — Lewandowski hat trick leads rout
Inter 0-2 Bayern — Sane unplayable as Bayern ease to win
Tottenham 2-0 Marseille — Richarlison the late hero on his UCL debut

Matchday 2

Tuesday, 13 September
Plzen 0-2 Inter — Goal, assist for Dzeko in win over 10-man hosts
Sporting CP 2-0 Tottenham – Conte rues details plus v ideo highlights
Liverpool 2-1 Ajax –Klopp relief at rebound win; Video highlights
Porto 0-4 Club Brugge — Four different scorers highlight blowout
Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 Atletico Madrid — Frimpong sets up two late goals
Bayern Munich 2-0 Barcelona — Wasteful finishing haunts Lewandowski return
Marseille 0-1 Eintracht Frankfurt — Late first-half Lindstrom goal the difference

Wednesday, 14 September
AC Milan 3-1 Dinamo Zagreb
Shakhtar 1-1 Celtic
Chelsea 1-1 Salzburg – RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS
Rangers 0-3 Napoli
Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig
Man City 2-1 Dortmund – RECAP & HIGHLIGHTS
Copenhagen 0-0 Sevilla
Juventus 1-2 Benfica
Maccabi Haifa 1-3 Paris Saint-Germain

Matchday 3

Tuesday, 4 October
Bayern vs Plzen (12:45)
Marseille vs Sporting CP (12:45)
Liverpool vs Rangers (3:00)
Ajax vs Napoli (3:00)
Porto vs Leverkusen (3:00)
Club Brugge vs Atletico (3:00)
Inter vs Barcelona (3:00)
Frankfurt vs Tottenham (3:00)

Matchday 4

Tuesday, 11 October
Copenhagen vs Man City (12:45)
Maccabi Haifa vs Juventus (12:45)
Dinamo Zagreb vs Salzburg (3:00)
AC Milan vs Chelsea (3:00)
Shakhtar vs Real Madrid (3:00)
Celtic vs Leipzig (3:00)
Dortmund vs Sevilla (3:00)
Paris vs Benfica (3:00)

Wednesday, 12 October
Napoli vs Ajax (12:45)
Atletico vs Club Brugge (12:45)
Rangers vs Liverpool (3:00)
Leverkusen vs Porto (3:00)
Barcelona vs Inter (3:00)
Plzen vs Bayern (3:00)
Tottenham vs Frankfurt (3:00)
Sporting CP vs Marseille (3:00)

Matchday 5

Tuesday, 25 October
Salzburg vs Chelsea (12:45)
Sevilla vs Copenhagen (12:45)
Dinamo Zagreb vs AC Milan (3:00)
Celtic vs Shakhtar (3:00)
Leipzig vs Real Madrid (3:00)
Dortmund vs Man City (3:00)
Paris vs Maccabi Haifa (3:00)
Benfica vs Juventus (3:00)

Wednesday, 26 October
Club Brugge vs Porto (12:45)
Inter vs Plzen (12:45)
Napoli vs Rangers (3:00)
Ajax vs Liverpool (3:00)
Atletico vs Leverkusen (3:00)
Barcelona vs Bayern (3:00)
Tottenham vs Sporting CP (3:00)
Frankfurt vs Marseille (3:00)

Matchday 6

Tuesday, 1 November
Porto vs Atletico (18:45)
Leverkusen vs Club Brugge (18:45)
Liverpool vs Napoli (21:00)
Rangers vs Ajax (21:00)
Bayern vs Inter (21:00)
Plzen vs Barcelona (21:00)
Sporting CP vs Frankfurt (21:00)
Marseille vs Tottenham (21:00)

Wednesday, 2 November
Real Madrid vs Celtic (12:45)
Shakhtar vs Leipzig (12:45)
Chelsea vs Dinamo Zagreb (3:00)
AC Milan vs Salzburg (3:00)
Man City vs Sevilla (3:00)
Copenhagen vs Dortmund (3:00)
Juventus vs Paris (3:00)
Maccabi Haifa vs Benfica (3:00)

Knockout stage dates

Round of 16 draw: 7 November
Round of 16: 14/15/21/22 February & 7/8/14/15 March 2023
Quarter-final and semi-final draw: 17 March 2023
Quarter-finals: 11/12 & 18/19 April 2023
Semi-finals: 9/10 & 16/17 May 2023
Final: 10 June 2023

Champions League group stage standings

Group A
Napoli — 6 points (+6 GD)
Ajax — 3 (-2)
Liverpool — 3 (+3)
Rangers — 0 (-7)

Group B
Club Brugge — 6 (+5)
Bayer Leverkusen — 3 (1)
Atletico Madrid — 3 (-1)
Porto — 0 (-5)

Group C
Bayern Munich — 6 (+4)
Barcelona — 3 (+2)
Inter Milan — 3 (0)
Viktoria Plzen — 0 (-6)

Group D
Sporting CP — 6 (+5)
Tottenham Hotspur — 3 (0)
Eintracht Frankfurt — 3 (-2)
Marseille — 0

Group E
AC Milan — 4 (+2)
Dinamo Zagreb — 3 (-1)
Red Bull Salzburg — 2 (0)
Chelsea — 1 (-1)

Group F
Real Madrid — 6 (+5)
Shakhtar Donetsk — 3 (+3)
Celtic — 1 (-3)
RB Leipzig — 0 (-5)

Group G
Manchester City — 6 (+5)
Borussia Dortmund — 3 (+2)
Copenhagen — 1 (-3)
Sevilla — 1 (-4)

Group H
Paris Saint-Germain — 6 (+3)
Benfica — 6 (+3)
Juventus — 0 (-2)
Maccabi Haifa — 0 (-4)

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham: Spurs to rue missed chances

By Nicholas Mendola and Andy EdwardsOct 4, 2022, 4:40 PM EDT

Tottenham Hotspur couldn’t find a way to goal in a scoreless draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany on Tuesday, leaving their UEFA Champions League fate in the middle of a muddled Group D.

[ LIVE: Champions League scores, stats ]

Spurs had 56% of the ball but the game featured only two shots on target each and was utterly forgettable for those not in attendance to sing and take in the Waldstadion atmosphere.

Harry Kane couldn’t convert either of two glorious chances and Spurs failed to manufacture much else, but will feel more than comfortable with the idea of beating Eintracht in North London next week

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

What we learned from Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham

Someone freeze time so Harry Kane can rest: Tottenham’s star striker looks like a man who could use a refresh. Since the start of September, Kane has played 270 out of 270 minutes in the UEFA Champions League, 180 out of 180 minutes for England, and 708 out of 720 minutes in the Premier League. Yes, big time players play most of their teams’ minutes. And yes, Kane is the Premier League’s second-leading scorer. But the idea of Tottenham’s depth should just be to rotate Heung-min Son, Richarlison, and Dejan Kulusevski a bit.

Tottenham’s knockout round berth not a fait accompli, but this is alright: Spurs have now taken four of nine points from Group D, beating Marseille at home and losing to Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. The group is congested with three points separating first-place Sporting Lisbon and last-place OM, but Spurs are one of two teams with a pair of home games left on their docket and that gives them a strong chance to reach the knockout rounds.

How to watch Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time

Kick off: 3pm ET, Tuesday
TV Channel: TUDN, Paramount+
Online: Updates via NBCSports.com

Key pregame storylines

Group D remains eminently winnable for Spurs, who have three points from their first two games. Sporting sit top of the group on six, but four games remain, including the return fixture in north London on Oct. 26. Eintracht Frankfurt have thus far beaten Marseille (away) and taken a hammering by the Portuguese (home), leaving their two most difficult fixtures (Tottenham and Sporting away) for the second half of the group stage.

In-form players to keep an eye on

Despite some (minor) frustrations over Tottenham’s rather defensive style of play under Conte, it’s worth noting they’ve only failed to score once all season (the loss to Sporting). Harry Kane leads the way in the Premier League with seven goals, including one against Arsenal, on the heels of Son Heung-min’s hat trick against the Foxes prior to the international break. Finally off the mark for the season and locked into a starting spot for the time being with Dejan Kulusevski battling a thigh injury. Richarlison scored his first two goals for Tottenham in the home win over Marseille, but the Brazilian has since gone cold without a goal or assist in three straight games (all starts).

Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options

OUT: Dejan Kulusevski (thigh), Lucas Moura (achilles)

Follow @AndyEdMLS

Premier League top scorers: Who is leading 2022 Golden Boot race?

By Nicholas MendolaOct 4, 2022, 1:30 PM EDT

For those tempted to write off Erling Haaland’s historically-hot start to life as a Premier League striker, we get it: There’s something rather dull about not wondering the identity of the 2022 Golden Boot winner, but just the number of his final tally.

Haaland’s Premier League-leading 14 goals from eight games has him seven goals clear of the next closest challenger: Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

His third hat trick of the season, joined by three Phil Foden goals in Man City’s 6-3 derby win over United, keeps him on pace for more than 60 goals this season, a mark that would

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

And even though Haaland is currently overperforming his expected goals total, it’s already becoming clear that projecting him for the Premier League record is not farfetched at all.

Take a look at these digits. Haaland isn’t just punching in goals; He’s made an almost seamless transition to Pep Guardiola’s system, producing chances for others in addition to his powerful self-positioning.

Haaland is unlikely to hit even 50 goals given the schedule congestion to come for Man City, but the Premier League record is very well under assault

Mohamed Salah holds the 38-game season record with his 32 goals scored for Liverpool during the 2017-18 season, while Newcastle’s Andy Cole and Blackburn’s Alan Shearer bagged 34 during 42-game seasons in the 20th century’s final decade.

Haaland also could topple the record for goal involvements (goals plus assists) in a single season, including beating the 42-game record. Alan Shearer put up 47 over 42, while Thierry Henry holds the 38-game record with 44.

Other records that Haaland could legitimately tie or topple:

30 goals in a first Premier League season (Kevin Phillips, Sunderland, 1999-2000)
Goals in 24 different Premier League matches (Salah, Liverpool, 2017-18)
Most goals in a Premier League match (Five tied with five)
11-straight Premier League games with a goal (Jamie Vardy, Leicester, 2014-15)

Read on to see the latest Premier League goal totals for the 2022-23 season, as Haaland looks to claim a Golden Boot in his first PL season.

Premier League 2022-23 Golden Boot race

Erling Haaland, Man City — 14
Harry Kane, Tottenham — 7
Aleksandar Mitrovic, Fulham — 6
Phil Foden, Man City — 5
Ivan Toney, Brentford — 5
James Maddison, Leicester City — 5
Roberto Firmino, Liverpool — 5
Gabriel Jesus, Arsenal — 5
Leandro Trossard — Brighton — 5
Three tied with four. (Alexis Mac Allister, Rodrigo, Wilfried Zaha)

Follow @NicholasMendola

Premier League news

What we learned from Liverpool vs Rangers

Trent Alexander free kick goal video

Jurgen Klopp reaction: We changed things. It helped Trent.

How to watch Liverpool vs Rangers live, stream link and start time

Key storylines

In-form players to keep an eye on

The lowdown on Rangers

Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options

Latest USMNT news

UEFA Champions League schedule, dates, how to watch

Champions League group stage fixtures (all kick off times ET)

Matchday 3

JPW’s Champions League predictions – Matchday 3

Matchday 1

Matchday 2

Matchday 3

Matchday 4

Matchday 5

Matchday 6

Knockout stage dates

Champions League group stage standings

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Premier League news

What we learned from Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham

How to watch Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham live, stream link and start time

Key pregame storylines

In-form players to keep an eye on

Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options

Latest USMNT news

Latest Premier League

Premier League 2022-23 Golden Boot race