Top games to watch this week
Friday, August 20
RB Leipzig vs Stuttgart (Bundesliga)
Brest vs PSG (Ligue 1)
Saturday, August 21
Liverpool vs Burnley (Premier League)
Manchester City vs Norwich City
Athletic Club vs Barcelona (La Liga)
Inter vs Genoa (Serie A)
Freiburg vs Borussia Dortmund (Bundesliga)
Gil Vicente vs Benfica (Primeira Liga)
Sporting CP vs Belenenses (Primeira Liga)
Monaco vs Lens(Ligue 1)
Saint-Etienne vs Lille (Ligue 1)
Monterrey vs Guadalajara (Liga MX)
Sunday, August 22
Southampton vs Manchester United (Premier League)
Wolverhampton vs Tottenham (Premier League)
Arsenal vs Chelsea (Premier League)
Levante vs Real Madrid (La Liga)
Udinese vs Juventus (Serie A)
Bayern vs Köln (Bundesliga)
Maritimo vs Porto (Primeira Liga)
América vs Tijuana (Liga MX)
Monday, August 23
West Ham vs Leicester City (Premier League)
Getafe vs Sevilla (La Liga)
Sampdoria vs Milan (Serie A)
Tuesday, August 24
PSV vs Benfica (UEFA Champions League)
Ludogorets vs Malmo FF (UEFA Champions League)
Ferencvaros vs Young Boys (UEFA Champions League)
Wednesday, August 25
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Monaco (UEFA Champions League)
Brondby vs Salzburg (UEFA Champions League)
Dinamo Zagreb vs Sheriff (UEFA Champions League)
WBA vs Arsenal (League Cup)
Bremer SV vs Bayern (DFB Pokal)
Thursday, August 26
HJK vs Fenerbahce (UEFA Europa League)
Galatasaray vs Randers (UEFA Europa League)
AZ vs Celtic (UEFA Europa League)
CFR Cluj vs Crvena Zvezda (UEFA Europa League)
Slovan Bratislava vs Olympiakos Piraeus (UEFA Europa League)
Legia Warszawa vs Slavia Praha (UEFA Europa League)
Roma vs Trabzonspor (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Tottenham Hotspur vs Paços de Ferreira (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Elfsborg vs Feyenoord (UEFA Europa Conference League)
Vitesse vs Anderlecht (UEFA Europa Conference League)
What are the must-watch games this week?
Athletic host Barcelona this Saturday on Matchday 2 of the 2021-22 La Liga season at 4:00 p.m. ET on ESPN+
Barcelona claimed their first official after Messi's departure last week, and they will be keen on repeating that when they take on Athletic Club, one of the teams that have given them the hardest times recently. It was the Basque side who denied Los Culés from winning the Spanish Super Cup last season and who also got "La Pulga" sent off for the first time in his club career, so if things go as planned, the game that is going to take place at the Estadio San Mamés will be quite entertaining to watch. On top of that, the hosts are still looking for their first win of the season, and what better way to get things going than beating Los Blaugranas? Those are some of the reasons why we feel you should keep track of this game.
Arsenal host UCL winners Chelsea on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. on NBC and Telemundo to put an end to Matchday 2 in the 2021-22 Premier League season
Matchday 1 left a few talking points for Premier League fans. One of those was Arsenal's baffling display against Brentford in their opening game, which ended in a two-nil loss for the Gunners. Now, Mikel Arteta's team will host Chelsea, one of the hottest teams in the world and who will want to make Romelu Lukaku feel at home in what could be his first game back with the Blues. Chelsea claimed a convincing win against Crystal Palace last week and now, all eyes will be set on Thomas Tuchel's team to see if their title hopes are for real in the English top-flight.
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The Women's Cup final and third-place match
The Women's Cup kicked off with 2020/21 UWCL semifinalists FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain facing off at Lynn Family Stadium in Louisville on Wednesday. FC Bayern defeated PSG 5-4 in a penalty shootout after a 2-2 draw in regulation time.
Moments after the penalty shootout, tournament hosts Racing Louisville and the Chicago Red Stars skirmished on the pitch for a spot in the final against Bayern Munich. It was the hosts who overcame the Red Stars in penalties after a one-all draw in 90 minutes.
Broadcast info for The Women's Cup final and third-place match
Final: Racing Louisville vs. FC Bayern on Aug. 21, at 6 p.m. ET
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Paramount+
Third-place match: Chicago Red Stars vs. PSG on Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. ET
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Paramount+
Women's International Champions Cup final and third-place match
The opening game of the WICC saw seven-time UWCL champions Olympique Lyonnais take down the reigning UWCL winners Barcelona on Wednesday. Lyon forward Melvine Malard called game when she scored the game-winning goal in the 85th minute to win 3-2.
On the other hand, the Portland Thorns defended Providence Park by a thread. The Houston Dashed came out firing at all cylinders in the first half, with attacking midfielder Shea Groom scoring a brace. However, midfielder Natalia Kuikka and 15-year-old midfielder Olivia Moultrie level the scoring in the second half. The game went into a penalty shootout that saw Portland win 3-1.
Broadcast info for WICC final and third-place match
Final: Portland Thorns vs. Lyon on Aug. 21, at 10:06 p.m. ET
- ESPN2, ESPN3, fuboTV
Third-place match: Barcelona vs. Houston Dash on Aug. 21, at 7:36 p.m. ET
- ESPN3, ESPNU, fuboTV
NWSL games from Aug. 20-26
Make sure you visit LiveSoccerTV's NWSL broadcast page to learn all the broadcast information for the following games:
Saturday, Aug. 21
North Carolina Courage vs. Kansas City at 7 p.m. ET
- Paramount+ (USA), Twitch (international)
OL Reign vs. Gotham FC at 10 p.m. ET
- Paramount+ (USA), Twitch (international)
Sunday, Aug. 22
Washington Spirit vs. Orlando Pride at 4 p.m. ET
- CBS Sports Network (USA, Canada), Twitch (international)
Wednesday, Aug. 25
Kansas City vs. Racing Louisville at 8 p.m. ET
- Paramount+ (USA), Twitch (international)
Portland Thorns vs. Gotham FC at 10:30 p.m. ET
- CBS Sports Network (USA, Canada), Twitch (international)
Liga MX Femenil: Cruz Azul vs. Tigres UANL broadcast info
Cruz Azul will face Tigres UANL on Saturday, Aug. 21, at 1 p.m. ET. The Liga MX Femenil game will be broadcasted in Mexico and the USA.
- TUDN, TUDN En Vivo, Blim TV (Mexico), TUDN USA, TUDN App, TUDN.com (USA)
Biggest stories of the week
Juventus secure deal for breakout EURO 2020 star
The transfer speculation surrounding Manuel Locatelli has been buzzing for a while, but it really hit fever pitch following the 23-year-old's impressive performance for Italy at the EURO 2020 tournament. During the event, which was ultimately won by the Azzurri, Locatelli proved to be a standout player for Roberto Mancini's side as they won their first EURO title since 1968.
And as a result, it's earned him a big money move to a bigger club. After months of speculation, Juventus have opted to sign him on a two year loan deal with an obligation to buy, which is expected to cost the Bianconeri about €37.5 million in total once they buy him outright.
Juventus endured a disappointing campaign both in Europe and domestically, as they crashed out early of the Champions League and barely scraped by to finish in fourth spot. As such, they've decided to bring back Massimiliano Allegri in a bid to revive their fortunes and will certainly hope that new acquisition will be part of their efforts as they look to regain some ground lost last season.
USWNT legend Carli Lloyd announces her retirement
Lloyd will be remembered as one of the most clutch players in USWNT and her long list of accolades across her 17-year international career:
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Fifth top international scorer (men's and women's) with 128 goals
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Second most-capped player in world soccer history (312)
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One-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year
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Two-time FIFA Women's World Cup winner
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One-time U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year
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Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist
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Two-time CONCACAF Women's Championship winner
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Four-time CONCACAF Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament winner
"When I first started out with the National Team in 2005, my two main goals were to be the most complete soccer player I could be and to help the team win championships," said Lloyd. "Every single day I stepped out onto the field, I played as if it was my last game. I never wanted to take anything for granted, especially knowing how hard it is to get to the top, but even harder to stay at the top for so long."
The 39-year-old will hang up her No. 10 national team jersey after the USWNT play four fall friendlies.
Lloyd will ultimately hang up her boots at the end of the 2021 National Women's Soccer League season with her club NJ/NY Gotham FC. Her 12-year and six-team club career will culminate in November if Gotham maintains their spot in playoffs.
"To end my career knowing my family was able to be by my side and share this last chapter with me could not have been any more special. We will all have a lot more time to spend together now, and especially with my husband Brian, who has been my rock and biggest support system for all these years. We are both looking forward to starting this next chapter of our lives without my everyday grind of training and playing, but I will most likely need to another outlet for my competitiveness! Perhaps that will be golf?"
Lukaku writes open letter to Inter Milan fans ahead of possible Chelsea debut vs Arsenal
The Belgian ace completed a sensational move to Chelsea not too long ago, returning to Stamford Bridge for $135M seven years after leaving the English capital on a permanent deal in search of first-team football. The UEFA Champions League holders were in search of a world-class no.9 to complete their deadly squad and after several failed attempts to land Dortmund's Erling Haaland, the London giants turned their attention towards the Belgian striker and quickly wrapped up this mega-money deal.
However, this move did not go down well with the Nerrazzuri fan base, with some supporters defacing Romelu's mural outside the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in anger. The 28-year-old was a fan favorite, finishing as the club's top scorer last season while guiding them to their first Scudetto since 2010, thus sparking this emotional reaction.
Watching their talisman forward leave in the same summer as Antonio Conte and Achraf Hakimi made things worse, hence the resentment towards his departure. However, in an open letter written to the fans, the Stamford Bridge man asked Inter Milan supporters to understand his decision to join Chelsea, hailing the offer to join Chelsea as a "chance of a lifetime".
Manchester United ready to offer Pogba mammoth deal to keep him at Old Trafford
In what has turned out to be a never-ending story, Paul Pogba's future has once again become the topic of discussion this summer. Nevertheless, this time it could be good news for Manchester United fans.
According to reports coming in from Spain and England, Pogba could be re-considering his stance regarding an exit from the English side. The reason? Manchester United could be preparing a massive offer for the footballer, who would extend his stay at Old Trafford until 2025 if things go as planned.
The report, initially revealed by The Athletic, states that the Red Devils would be interested in keeping Pogba around for quite a few reasons, but the most important of those would be his society with Bruno Fernandes and the increasing chances of the duo leading the team to European and domestic glory. If Pogba agrees to extend his deal at Old Trafford, the Frenchman would collect over $30M per season, which would represent a huge increase compared to his current wages.
According to The Athletic, Pogba is quite happy living in Manchester, and the thought of leaving the club on a free transfer next summer has slowly faded away from his mind. The player has been frequently linked to Real Madrid and PSG, but both teams would only be interested in signing Pogba for free until next summer, which may give the Red Devils an edge over their competitors when it comes to signing the footballer.
