What else is there to say except that the International interruption is finally over. And when the wife gives you the green light to have a do-nothing Saturday, you let the overindulgence in a full slate of Saturday soccer commence. Here are a few of the wonders I witnessed over the past 24 hours. Enjoy the snacking.
🍪 As Freiburg found out this weekend, it’s stoppage time, not hope that kills you. Bayern Münich hasn’t lost in this tie since 2015, and things looked dire as the fourth official put on a number that made the entire build shift uncomfortably. Tom Bischof evened it up before the third minute of stoppage time hit, and Lennart Karl finished them off with a minute or so to spare before the final whistle blew. Heartbreak and heroics all in one shot glass.
🥜 Real Madrid thought they found hope right before stoppage time when Éder Militao headed home a perfectly lofted corner by Trent Alexander-Arnold. But stoppage time had other ideas. Roughly a minute into the extra time, Vedat Muriqi finished off a counterattack that caught Real Madrid’s entire defense off guard. This was only the third time Mallorca has taken all three points against Real Madrid. All three times, unsurprisingly, came at home.
🍎 The Eredivisie leaders also worked the sorcery of stoppage time, stomping on the hearts of Conference League hopefuls, FC Utrecht, less than 10 minutes after naively hoping they secured a point. Despite the scare, a 90+4’ goal from Couhaib Driouech to take all three points pushes PSV Eindhoven so far above Feyenoord that the title has been all but clinched. But perhaps don’t bring up clinching a title before you’ve actually clinching it to any Ajax fans in your life.
🍟 What a wonky game up in Toronto. Not only were there three red cards, but the game was so sloppy the game ended up with 10 cards by the final whistle. Down a goal but up a man, Toronto FC‘s first salvo was an own goal: Zach Steffen misplayed a ball so badly I wanted to give him a juice box and orange slices at the end of the game to make him feel better. The final bomb was ordered and executed by Joshua Sargent Slaughter, making his first start and notching his first goal, a game-winner, nonetheless. 🫡
🍦Zavier Gozo’s second goal of the season to put Sporting KC to bed was a beaut. Whether his first touch was purposeful or a lucky error, his finish on the volley should put the entire league on notice that this 19-year-old plans on being a huge part of Real Salt Lake’s offense. Four goal contributions through five matches should be just the tip of the iceberg for this young American!
🫘Three goals in eight minutes for Denis Bouanga will most certainly shoot him up the Golden Boot favorites list. Calling Orlando City’s defense Swiss cheese is a swinging slap in the Emmental’s face.
🥨 Southampton surprisingly showed Arsenal the door in the FA Cup. The closest thing Spurs can call a win in a long time.
What matches caught your eye this weekend? Let me know!
