Soccer

9:57 AM ET Caitlin Murray Since the inception of the National Women’s Soccer League, its club owners, executives and coaches have loved to call the NWSL the best women’s soccer league in the world — and for the on-field product alone, they may have been right. But when it comes to just about everything else

8:16 AM ET USWNT and Orlando Pride striker Alex Morgan on Tuesday called for the National Women’s Soccer League to end the systemic failure that led to a decade of alleged sexual harassment of players by league coaches. The North Carolina Courage last week fired coach Paul Riley amid allegations spanning over a decade of

11:26 AM ET Kyle Bonagura Close ESPN Staff Writer Covers the Pac-12. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Jeff Carlisle Close U.S. soccer correspondent Jeff Carlisle covers MLS and the U.S. national team for ESPN FC. It wasn’t that long ago that the Portland Timbers were on the outside looking in at the

11:55 AM ET What a weekend! It feels like we say this every weekend, but it was especially true here. Liverpool and Manchester City put on a show, Atletico Madrid (in particular Luis Suarez) made a statement vs. Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo made a scene after Manchester United‘s frustrating home draw vs. Everton. Elsewhere, Bayern

5:42 PM ET It was a weekend on which several big clubs were upset, from Real Madrid and Barcelona in Spain to Paris Saint-Germain in France and Manchester United in England. Meanwhile, Juventus‘ Manuel Locatelli had two reasons to celebrate and Mohamed Salah was superb for Liverpool. Here are Rob Dawson, Alex Kirkland and James

2:53 PM ET Pep Guardiola and his Manchester City backroom staff were spat at during Sunday’s 2-2 Premier League draw against Liverpool at Anfield, a City source has told ESPN. Champions City climbed into third position, behind second-placed Liverpool, after Kevin De Bruyne‘s deflected goal in the 81st minute claimed a point after Liverpool had

3:20 PM ET LIVERPOOL, England — There are more backslaps and hugs between players than flying pizzas and tunnel bust-ups when Liverpool take on Manchester City, but while this fixture lacks the animosity and belligerence of old Manchester United–Arsenal clashes, the sheer quality displayed during Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Anfield showed that the rivalry is

6:28 AM ET Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp likened refusal to take the COVID-19 vaccine to drink-driving, saying such people endanger others. Klopp said he took the vaccine to protect not just himself but “all the people around me.” The 54-year-old also said that “99%” of his Liverpool players are vaccinated and that he did not

10:45 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision to rest Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of the 1-1 draw with Everton on Saturday. Ronaldo has scored five goals since returning to Old Trafford, but was left on the bench against Rafael Benitez’s side along with Paul Pogba and Jadon Sancho. –

11:00 AM ET Rob DawsonCorrespondent MANCHESTER, England — Nothing is coming easily for Manchester United at the moment, and it’s making life hard for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Three days after the dramatic late Champions League win against Villarreal, there was another frantic finish at Old Trafford. This time, though, there were no Cristiano Ronaldo heroics

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7:46 PM ET NWSL commissioner Lisa Baird and general counsel Lisa Levine have been removed from their roles, sources confirmed to ESPN. The Athletic was the first to report the news. No replacement for either role has been announced. The decision was made by the league’s Board of Directors and comes in the wake of

4:00 AM ET Pep Guardiola must feel as though there is sometimes no respite as Manchester City manager. Five days after seeing Lionel Messi consign his team to defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, he must now prepare to face Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in a game that could ultimately prove key to this

4:00 AM ET Cristiano Ronaldo has told Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that Man United need to play quicker for him — ESPN’s Insider Notebook has the latest. PLUS: Football’s push for mixed gender matches. Jump to: Mixed gender matches in football? | Taekwondo champ signs for Barca | Salah contract saga rumbles on | Lacazette edges

1:33 PM ET Progression to the mean is rarely so stark. After spending most of the 2020-21 season playing like a solid mid-table Premier League team on paper, but rarely translating that quality into points, Brighton has started 2021-22 in fine form. The Seagulls finished 16th in the league last season despite an expected goal

1:30 PM ET Rodrigo Faez Alex Kirkland It’s been 12 months since Luis Suarez left Barcelona for Atletico Madrid. Forced out as part of an attempted team rebuild after six seasons filled with success and trophies, Barcelona’s third-highest scorer in team history left Camp Nou an angry man on a mission: to show that at

7:30 AM ET Matchday 2 of the Champions League group stage is in the books and there is plenty to discuss, from Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi starring for Manchester United and PSG respectively, to a woeful week for Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid. We asked Gab Marcotti, Mark Ogden and Sam Marsden to

5:01 PM ET ESPN Facebook Twitter Facebook Messenger Pinterest Email Cristiano Ronaldo scored a dramatic goal for Manchester United in the Champions League game against Villarreal. Getty Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed an stoppage-time winner as Manchester United came from behind to secure a 2-1 Champions League Group F win over Villarreal at Old Trafford on Wednesday. After