Football

Open Extended Reactions Liverpool have moved a step closer to appointing Arne Slot as manager at Anfield after reaching an agreement with Dutch club Feyenoord for the highly-rated coach, sources confirmed to ESPN. Slot, 45, confirmed on Thursday that he was keen to move to Liverpool after being identified as the Premier League team’s preferred

Open Extended Reactions What happens next at Manchester United? It is a question that has hovered over Old Trafford since Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos group purchased a minority stake in the club in February. That 27.7% share secured control of football operations at the Premier League‘s biggest, and most underperforming team. The only certainty at

Jeff Kassouf Apr 25, 2024, 08:11 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Sophia Smith of the Portland Thorns was the NWSL’s MVP in 2022. Is she on track for another MVP-worthy season this year? Troy Wayrynen/USA TODAY Sports The 2024 National Women’s Soccer League season is five matchweeks old. Too early to start talking about contenders for

Open Extended Reactions The timing was impeccable. Just 48 hours after Nottingham Forest‘s outrageous social media statement called the impartiality and integrity of Premier League referee Stuart Attwell into question, after they were denied three penalty appeals against Everton, UEFA announced that Attwell had been appointed as a VAR for Euro 2024. It perfectly illustrates

Sam Marsden, Barcelona correspondentApr 25, 2024, 06:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions With everything that’s going on with Barcelona at the moment — still reeling from their loss in El Clasico at the weekend and their manager doing a U-turn over his decision to leave this summer, all amid their continued financial peril — the

Open Extended Reactions Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool need a “crisis” at Arsenal and Manchester City to revive their Premier League title hopes after a 2-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby at Everton left his side three points off top spot with four games left to play. Goals by Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin sealed Everton’s

Open Extended Reactions Jurgen Klopp hugged Everton manager Sean Dyche, patted his Liverpool players on the back and then disappeared down the players’ tunnel with 38,000 Evertonians singing “You lost the league at Goodison Park” at full volume. Klopp didn’t need the reminder. The manager knew it was all over for him and for Liverpool.

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Apr 24, 2024, 05:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions On Sunday, Barcelona lost to Real Madrid in the 256th edition of El Clásico. It was a close game — Barça twice took the lead, only for Madrid to roar back and win 3-2 on Jude Bellingham‘s injury time goal — and

Open Extended Reactions Mauricio Pochettino admitted Chelsea “gave up” in Tuesday’s 5-0 thrashing at Arsenal, but sought to defend his players by insisting some of the game’s greats had similar off days. Leandro Trossard‘s fourth-minute strike opened the scoring before four goals in 18 second-half minutes — two each from Ben White and Kai Havertz

Open Extended Reactions LONDON — What should embarrass Chelsea most is Arsenal are everything that they are not. Tuesday’s 5-0 thrashing at Emirates Stadium showcased the Gunners’ shrewd spending and stylish structure, a combination which threatens to push Manchester City the distance in the Premier League title race. Mikel Arteta’s side have played two games

Graham Hunter, Spain writerApr 23, 2024, 05:00 AM ET Close Graham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team. Open Extended Reactions As any of you who love chess will already have deduced, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández and the LaLiga club are currently engaged in

ESPN News Services Apr 22, 2024, 04:44 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Inter Milan beat city rivals AC Milan 2-1 on Monday to clinch the Serie A title, the 20th time the club has lifted the trophy in its history. Goals either side of half-time by Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram set Inter on their

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCApr 22, 2024, 12:06 PM ET Open Extended Reactions The weekend may be over, but European soccer left us with plenty to talk about. In LaLiga, Real Madrid shrugged off 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to beat Clasico rivals Barcelona 3-2 and more or less put the title race to bed,

Open Extended Reactions Video Assistant Referee causes controversy all the time in the Premier League, and the FA Cup doesn’t escape either. But how are decisions made, and are they correct? After each weekend we take a look at the major incidents, to examine and explain the process both in terms of VAR protocol and

Open Extended Reactions The Premier League title race has taken an attritional turn, and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will hope going top of the table can breathe new life into his team. The Gunners secured a 2-0 win at Wolves on Saturday night but, despite the comfortable score line, it had “last man standing” feel

LONDON — Manchester United are into the FA Cup final, but the manner with which they scraped past Coventry City will do nothing for Erik ten Hag’s prospects of remaining as manager. If anything, the supporters who streamed out of Wembley and back to Manchester after watching their team win a penalty shootout at the

Apr 21, 2024, 10:26 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Sergino Dest’s loan spell with PSV Eindhoven has been a success. Joris Verwijst/BSR Agency/Getty Images United States international defender Sergiño Dest suffered a knee injury in PSV Eindhoven training on Saturday, casting his place at this summer’s Copa America into doubt. Dest, 23, is on loan at

Apr 20, 2024, 09:53 PM ET Open Extended Reactions It’s another weekend of European football and, as we edge towards the end of the season, every single game feels like it has so much on the line. Arsenal and Manchester City bounced back from their midweek Champions League exits with wins in the Premier League