Argentina is back atop the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table thanks to a certain blonde-haired unretired superstar and a dogged defense, their 1-0 win over Uruguay one of five key results in South America on Thursday.
Uruguay entered the day atop the table and ended it wishing Lionel Messi really did retire. The world’s best attacker pushed a deflected shot home before halftime, and Argentina dealt with a red card to Paulo Dybala for the second half.
Colombia 2-0 Venezuela
Real Madrid’s James Rodriguez scored in first half stoppage time and MacNelly Torres added a goal well into the second half as Los Cafeteros joined Ecuador with 13 points. Venezuela remains dead last with just a single point through seven matches.
Ecuador 0-3 Brazil
Those good Olympic vibes keep flowing for Brazil, who went to Ecuador and broke through with three goals in the final 20 minutes. Neymar broke the deadlock with a penalty before Man City’s Gabriel Jesus scored twice to seal the win. Brazil has 12 points, one shy of its hosts.
Brazil’s Gabriel Jesus celebrates with Neymar (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)
Paraguay 2-1 Chile
The hosts looked nothing like the side the USMNT beat at Copa America, scoring twice in the first quarter hour against a stunned Chilean team. Oscar Romero (Racing Club de Avellaneda) and Paulo da Silva (Toluca) had it 2-0 by the 10th minute.
Arturo Vidal answered with a header off a free kick before halftime to set Chile up for a big second half, but an equalizer didn’t come. To add insult to injury, Gary Medel took a red card in stoppage time.
Paraguay has leapt into sixth place. That’s level with Brazil on points, and drops Chile to 7th.
Bolivia 2-0 Peru
Don’t sleep on the old guys. Thirty-eight year old Pablo Escobar opened the scoring in the first half before 35 year-old Ronald Raldes capped the scoring as Bolivia picked up its second win of qualifying to move past Peru and into 8th place. Next up: a trip to Chile.
The WSL was in a heated title fight, with Man City leading the table on points with 40 but Chelsea’s 39 coming in one fewer match. Arsenal was four points back of City with a match-in-hand.
The top two sides also qualify for the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Following full and thorough consultation with the clubs, the FA Women’s Super League & Women’s Championship Board has discussed various recommendations which will be sent to the FA Board to determine the most appropriate sporting outcome for the 2019-20 season.
This will include identifying the entries for the 2020-21 UEFA Women’s Champions League, which would be based on sporting merit from the 2019-20 Barclays FA Women’s Super League season.
There’s also relegation to consider, with Liverpool’s women dead last but within a win of two clubs.
Promotion from the Championship would be a little more clearcut, as Aston Villa has a six-point edge on the field.
Could there be a playoff to decide a title winner? Might the FA opt not to name a winner?
Chelsea was unbeaten but there’s certainly no guarantee they’d win out nor would giving City the title make any sense. The Blues took four of six points from City.
Man City, Chelsea, and Arsenal are the three previous title winners.
There was hope that the club would’ve had him for an extended spell or at least through June 30 when many contracts end, or that United could negotiate an extension for the Nigerian.
There was also talk of a permanent deal, but the transfer window will not open until at least July 1.
Ighalo, who turns 31 in June, has fit the bill as a fill-in striker for the Red Devils, who had lost Marcus Rashford to injury. He has four goals in eight appearances for United after 46 goals in three seasons abroad.
The good news for United is that Rashford is back in full training, but it would’ve been a nice luxury to have Ighalo for what’s sure to be a congested fixture list. That said, United has plenty of attacking talent including young Mason Greenwood. The Red Devils should be fine.
The Premier League world continues to move toward the return of soccer, while its social media eyes are trained in several directions.
In Monday’s edition of the PL social media wrap, we visit players from several clubs including both of Manchester’s top-flight sides in addition to a defender in the Northeast and a mournful note from Chelsea’s Antonio Rudiger.
It’s Independence Day in Argentina, and several players were Tweeting love back home from their homes in the Premier League.
Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendia, Man City’s Nicolas Otamendi, and West Ham’s Pablo Zabaleta shared their love for home.
Newcastle’s Federico Fernandez celebrated with Napoli’s clever photo of a makeshift Argentine XI, as the Serie A club has had a lot of strong players from the South American nation.
Didn’t see himself lining up with Diego Maradona any time soon, we imagine.
On the other side of Manchester, forward Marcus Rashford shared an honor bestowed upon him for his vigilant work raising money this coronavirus pandemic.
Rashford has been working with a group called Fair Share UK to provide free meals for underprivileged people during the pandemic.
Rashford was given a special recognition award by the High Sheriff of Greater Manchester and said, “To be recognized by my city is a special feeling.”
2.8million children a week are receiving meals they otherwise wouldn’t have during this lockdown because of YOUR help. I couldn’t have done any of this without the help of you all and @fareshare (2)
Rudiger was with Roma from 2015-17 apart from a loan to Stuttgart in Germany, and Bouasse was a center mid in their academy.
The Chelsea centerback shared a photo of Bouasse on Monday. It’s always so stunning when a someone so young, let alone an elite athlete, succumbs to heart problems. Our hearts are Bouasse and the Roma family tonight.
There’s a massive derby on Tuesday, with fans of drama likely rooting for a draw or Bayern Munich loss.
That’s because Bayern’s chase for an eighth-straight title was looking like a several horse race for a long time, as Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Borussia Monchengladbach all keeping first from the reigning champs at points this season.
Bayern has found its groove under Hansi Flick and now boasts a four-point lead on Tuesday hosts Dortmund, who have 57 points, and a seven-point advantage on the field.
The next three teams would all consider the title chance real with a Dortmund win or draw, as Leipzig, Gladbach, and Bayer Leverkusen are on 54, 53, and 52 points.
Borussia Dortmund v. Bayern Munich — 12:30 p.m. ET
Der Klassiker has been kind to the home sides in recent seasons and there’s no example more fitting than Bayern’s absolute demolition of Dortmund at the Allianz Arena in November.
That was Hansi Flick’s first time head-to-head with BVB and manager Lucien Favre, the 55-year-old’s only prior head coaching experience coming with Hoffenheim when the now-Bundesliga side was in the Oberliga and Regionalliga.
The bad news for Dortmund in addition to the 4-0 hanging its rearview mirror is that this home match is behind closed doors and won’t have the magnificent Yellow Wall looming over the visitors.
BVB and Bayern have swapped wins over their last four outings, including the German Super Cup earlier this year. And no teams in the league can boast the successes of
Dortmund is 9W-1L since returning from Winterpause and Bayern’s fine form extends well beyond the calendar’s change. Flick’s men have 12 wins and a draw since back-to-back losses to Bayer and Gladbach.
Whether Dortmund can win this will depend a lot on who’s available for the Starting XI. Mats Hummels limped off at halftime at the weekend and is in contention to play. Even though his last derby was poor, Dortmund is better with him than without him. Jadon Sancho was a sub on Saturday and is possibly the most complete playmaker between the two rosters including Robert Lewandowski. Axel Witsel may also be ready.
If Sancho and either Hummels or Witsel can go, we’ll expect Dortmund to collect a thrilling 3-2 win. Bayern’s defending was unsatisfactory in a weekend win over Eintracht, especially on set piece, and Erling Haaland is better than anything Bayern saw on Sunday. Still with questions about Sancho’s fitness, we’ll pick an entertaining 2-2 draw.
Werder Bremen v. Borussia Monchengladbach — 2:30 p.m. ET
Bremen’s terrible fixture run to end the season continues, but perhaps they’ve found some momentum in a VAR-aided win over scrappy Freiburg? USMNT forward Josh Sargent started that game and will hope for another run as his goal-shy side has only one player, Milot Rashica, with 10 or more goals. It’ll take more than one to get all the points against Gladbach, a potent offense even when it isn’t facing a defense like Bremen’s 59-goal conceders. 3-1 Gladbach.
Eintracht Frankfurt v. Freiburg — 2:30 p.m. ET
Eintracht found chances against Bayern; It just couldn’t stop the Bavarians. Tuesday’s hosts have now shipped 18 goals during a five-match losing streak and sit four points clear of the relegation danger, albeit with a match-in-hand. Freiburg is in the thick of the Europa League picture despite a letdown of a loss to Bremen. They may find the woes extend into Frankfurt, though, in a 1-0 Eintracht win.
Bayer Leverkusen v. Wolfsburg — 2:30 p.m. ET
The best of the late kickoffs has red-hot Kai Havertz and Bayer, who has scored seven goals in two matches since returning from the coronavirus pause. Havertz has four of those, and he’s been all over the final third in building up his resume. Wolfsburg slipped against Dortmund but a lot of teams do that. Bayer boss Peter Bosz will make a lot of believers if he delivers back-to-back wins over Gladbach and Wolfsburg, who sits sixth. He does, just. Bayer 2-1.
Maximilian Arnold of Wolfsburg (front) and Havertz (Photo by Boris Streubel/Getty Images)
Wednesday
RB Leipzig v. Hertha Berlin — 12:30 p.m. ET
Hertha built on its win over Hoffenheim by clobbering Union in the Berlin derby, as Bruno Labbadia has coaxed physical, advantageous performances out of his team against very different opponents. Leipzig is different gravy, though, having rebounded from a draw with Freiburg to bury Mainz 5-0. Dayot Upamecano has looked strong in returning from the coronavirus pause and Leipzig allows very little, anyway. On paper there aren’t any results you’d expect more than three points from the league’s third-place side. Leipzig 2-0.
Augsburg v. Paderborn — 2:30 p.m. ET
The hosts are riding high after moving six points clear of the bottom three and can essentially seal safety by beating 18th-place Paderborn. The basement dwellers have drawn both of their matches since returning and won’t be a pushover. Paderborn’s picked up away points six times compared to just four results at home. This one’s a toss-up. 1-1 draw.
Union Berlin v. Mainz — 2:30 p.m. ET
Expect ornery play from both sides as Union’s dreadful derby was met by Mainz allowing a quintet of goals to Leipzig. Union has dropped to within six points of the bottom three and Mainz can join their hosts on 30 points with a win. Mainz allows a ton of goals and Union’s amongst the Bundesliga’s worst at producing them. Both sides have fared well against fellow bottom sides of late. What’s going to give? Union gets by at home 2-1.
Hoffenheim v. Koln — 2:30 p.m. ET
The hosts have dropped back-to-back matches and now sit three points back of sixth while Koln have taken points from successive 2-2 draws and will feel momentum having scored twice late to grab a point from Fortuna Dusseldorf. Hoffenheim has just three points from its last 21 available to it and has lost eight times at home. Given their talent and reputation you’d say that indicates an end should be in sight. We’re not so sure. Koln 1-0.
Fortuna Dusseldorf v. Schalke — 2:30 p.m. ET
Schalke can’t win and doesn’t score. David Wagner’s men haven’t won since the first match after Winterpause, collecting just four points from nine outings and scoring twice. Wagner cannot find anyone to put the ball in the back of the goal yet somehow Schalke have only dropped two points back of sixth and are level on points with seventh-place Freiburg. Tuesday’s hosts thought they had a potentially season-saving win on Sunday but threw it away to draw 2-2. On the bright side, American midfielder Weston McKennie has been active and one of the club’s lone bright spots in twin blowout losses after the pause. He showed delightful vision and touch in particular on a long pass that could’ve set Rabbi Matondo up for glory against Augsburg. Maybe he’s a difference maker Tuesday and maybe we don’t want to predict any nil-nils. Schalke 1-0.
