Argentina 6-1 Paraguay: La Albiceleste thump Los Guaraníes to set up blockbuster final vs Chile

By Nicholas MendolaJun 30, 2015, 9:38 PM EDT

Argentina didn’t need any help in getting to the Copa America final, and Lionel Messi didn’t even need to score to move 90 minutes closer to his dream of a tournament championship.

Messi did have three assists, and Angel Di Maria scored twice as La Albiceleste thrashed Paraguay in a 6-1 semifinal win, serving notice to hosts Chile. The two rivals will meet in the final on July 4 in Santiago.

[ MORE: Galaxy on verge of Dos Santos deal ]

Marcos Rojo, Javier Pastore and Sergio Aguero also scored for Argentina, while Lucas Barrios netted a stunning long-range shot before halftime to give Paraguay brief hope, down 2-1 at the break.

Di Maria’s Manchester United teammate Rojo started the scoring just 14 minutes into the match, three minutes after receiving one of three early yellow cards dealt out in a testy affair.

Paraguay barely lost the shots battle, 15-14, but that mattered not against the playmaking Argentine side.

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Chelsea vs AC Milan: How to watch live, team news, updates

By Joe Prince-WrightOct 4, 2022, 11:30 AM EDT

Chelsea host AC Milan in a key clash for the Premier League side in Group E of the UEFA Champions League.

[ LIVE: Champions League scores, stats ]

Graham Potter’s Chelsea lost at Dinamo Zagreb and drew at home against RB Salzburg in their opening two group stage games and now face the reigning Italian champs home and away over the next week.

How these next two games go will likely determine if Chelsea reach the last 16 of the competition, while Milan can all-but punch their ticket to the knockout rounds with some positive results as they have a few former Chelsea stars who are looking to prove a point.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Chelsea vs AC Milan at Stamford Bridge.

How to watch Chelsea vs AC Milan live, stream link and start time

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

Key storylines

Chelsea grabbed a late, and controversial, win at Palace at the weekend and they’re creating more chances in attack and are slowly getting used to Graham Potter’s tactics. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is off and running as he scored at Palace too and Chelsea continue to look solid defensively. Potter has also seen his injury issues subside as the likes of N’Golo Kante, Edouard Mendy and Marc Cucurella are all expected back soon. As for Milan, they have had a workmanlike start to the Serie A season and sit in fifth place but are just three points off the top and their squad is looking very deep.

In-form players to keep an eye on

Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher scored a beauty to win the game at Palace and he will be flying high, while Aubameyang looked sharp and grabbed his goal at the weekend as he proved he can lead the line in this revamped Chelsea side. Reece James has been in sensational form at right back. For Milan, Olivier Giroud is their top goalscorer this season with five goals in all competitions and Rafael Leao is just behind him with four. Sandro Tonali makes Milan tick in central midfield and will look to dictate the tempo of this game.

The lowdown on AC Milan

With Giroud leading the lead and Chelsea academy product Fikayo Tomori anchoring the defense, there are a couple of ex-Chelsea players who will be desperate to prove a point against their old club. Aside from that storyline, Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has created a dynamic, hard-working side who are very tough to break down and have individual quality to score plenty of goals from counters and set pieces. That will concern Chelsea as defensively they’ve struggled on those two areas.

Chelsea team news, injuries, lineup options

This game may come too soon for Kante, Mendy and Cucurella to start but Potter will be delighted they are almost fit, while Gallagher, Broja and Pulisic are all pushing hard for minutes. Will Thiago Silva and Wesley Fofana start at center back again? Or will Koulibaly come in to give Silva a break?

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Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham: How to watch live, team news, updates

By Andy EdwardsOct 4, 2022, 9:50 AM EDT

Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham: Spurs will try to bounce back from defeat last time out in the UEFA Champions League (and in the Premier League) when they face last season’s Europa League winners in Frankfurt, Germany, on Tuesday.

[ LIVE: Champions League scores, stats ]

It was a 2-0 defeat to Portuguese side Sporting CP (via two stoppage-time goals) on Sept. 13 that ended Tottenham’s unbeaten start in all competitions, before Antonio Conte’s side respond with a 6-2 victory over Leicester. Saturday’s north London derby not only saw Spurs beaten by Arsenal, but also outplayed to a degree that will almost certainly have left Conte seething.

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Here is everything you need to know ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt vs Tottenham…

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 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 player Power Rankings – Week 8

By Joe Prince-WrightOct 4, 2022, 9:39 AM EDT

The latest Premier League player Power Rankings of the 2022-23 season have arrived, as we focus on who starred across Matchweek 9 as the action returned in full force following the international break.

[ MORE: How to watch PL in the USA ]

Stars from Manchester City and Arsenal continue to dominate the upper echelons of our list, as plenty of megastars are starting to hit top gear.

[ VIDEO: Premier League highlights ]

Remember: this is a list of the top 20 performing players right now in the Premier League. It is all based on their current form and which way they are trending, right now!

I’m sure you all agree wholeheartedly with our latest Premier League player Power Rankings…

Premier League player Power Rankings 2022-23 season – Week 8

1. Erling Haaland (Man City) – Even
2. Kevin de Bruyne (Man City) – Even
3. Granit Xhaka (Arsenal) – Up 2
4. Phil Foden (Man City) – Up 2
5. Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal) – Down 2
6. William Saliba (Arsenal) – Up 9
7. Joao Cancelo (Man City) – Even
8. Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) – Up 3
9. Harry Kane (Tottenham) – Down 5
10. Kieran Trippier (Newcastle) – Up 8
11. Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal) – Up 9
12. Leandro Trossard (Brighton) – New entry
13. Martin Odegaard (Arsenal) – Up 4
14. Alexis Mac Allister (Brighton) – New entry
15. Alisson (Liverpool) – New entry
16. Manuel Akanji (Man City) – New entry
17. Alex Iwobi (Everton) – New entry
18. Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – Up 1
19. Miguel Almiron (Newcastle) – New entry
20. Thomas Partey (Arsenal) – New entry

Follow @JPW_NBCSports

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

By Joe Prince-WrightOct 4, 2022, 7:38 AM 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 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)

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

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

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Premier League news

How to watch Chelsea vs AC Milan live, stream link and start time

Key storylines

In-form players to keep an eye on

The lowdown on AC Milan

Chelsea team news, injuries, lineup options

Latest USMNT news

[ MORE: How to watch Premier League in USA ]

Premier League news

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

Key storylines

In-form players to keep an eye on

Tottenham team news, injuries, lineup options

Latest USMNT news

Latest Premier League news

Premier League player Power Rankings 2022-23 season – Week 8

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