🎶🎶 The Champioooooons. The most electric European club tournament is back this week, so make sure to set up some late afternoon “meetings” to catch all the action. Before we take a look a head, let’s take a look back at this past weekend’s return from international break.

Yankees Abroad

🌧️ Rainy night in Milan. - Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, their Milano Derby debut will be a learning experience, as they couldn’t pull of a W on a rainy night in Milan. Pulisic only got 56’ minutes in on an unproductive night. While Musah was brough in at the 80th minute and only managed to get 8 minutes in.

A game to forget for both as they shift their focus to an exciting Champions League matchup vs Newcastle on Tuesday.

💯 100 Serie A appearances for Mckennie. He’s in incredible form at the moment- Great for Juventus, great for the USMNT. Juventus put on a solid performance against Lazio with a 3-1 win and Mckennie was able to top off his great game with an unreal 35+ yard assist to find Vlahovic to score the Juventus’ 3rd goal of the night.

🥐 Balogun shines in Monaco. Balogun came on as a sub and had himself a productive 24 minutes this weekend, including a great finish with just 3 minutes into the game.

Balogun made his official debut for the USMNT earlier this year, opting out of playing for the England national team. Keep an eye out for Monaco games because we have a feeling that Balogun is just starting to heat up 🔥🔥🔥🔥.

A Classico Weekend

🎯 Classicos, Derbies, and Rivalries, oh my. Fans of the beautiful game around the world were treated to exhilarating city-rival matches in various leagues from the Americas to Europe, spanning coast to coast- let’s dig in.

🗽 Hudson Derby. A stalemate between New York City Football Club and New York Red Bulls, thanks to a killer performance from NYCFC’s keeper Matt Freese who saved 3 point blank shots to keep a scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls. NYRB look to shake the dust off when they host Austin FC, while NYCFC host Orlando.

• 🔙 Looking Back. New York has a storied soccer past. The New York Cosmos dominated the North American Soccer League for much of the 70s-80s, and when MLS came along in 1996, the NY/NJ Metrostars were the first topflight team in NY since the collapse of the NASL in 1984.

  Throughout their MLS contests, NYRB holds holds a 15-3-8 (W-D-L) edge over NYCFC. Who can forget the 2016 thrashing where the Red Bulls made out with a 7-0 victory. The Hudson Derby’s all time scorer is former Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips, the English-born forward found the back of the net 12 times.

🚗 El Trafico. Speaking of thrashing, this weekend also saw out LAFC hosting LA Galaxy at the BMO Stadium. LAFC cruised past LA Galaxy 4-2, goal contributions include a brace from forward Denis Bouanga, Ryan Hollingshead, and Timothy Tillman, and 2 assists from Carlos Vela, while LA Galaxy only managed to sneak 2 past Maxime Creapua with Maya Yoshida and Billy Sharp putting numbers on the board.

• Historico Trafico. Named for LA’s notorious traffic congestion. Comparing the city rivals, Los Angeles FC was established in 2014, nearly two decades after their rivals LA Galaxy were founded in 1994.

  The first El Trafico was played on March 31, 2018, an electrifying match where LAFC caught a 3-0 lead with 30 minutes left until Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was making his LA Galaxy debut, came off the bench to score a brace to help LA Galaxy snag a 4-3 W.

  •  LA Galaxy host Minnesota for their next fixture while LAFC flies out to play table leaders St. Louis City.

☕🍕🍝Derby di Milano. Eternal rivals went head-to-head this weekend, Inter Milan hosted AC Milan at the Stadio Guiseppe Meazza. A highly anticipated match, resulted in utter dominance from Inter with a resounding 5-1 victory.

Inter set the tone early in the match with Herikh Mkhitaryan opening the score within the first 5 minutes. Mkhitaryan later provided a brace and an assist, earning the Armenian MOTM. Goal contributions are also provided by Marcus Thurman, Rafael Leao, Hakan Calhanoglu, and Davide Frattesi.

• Derby della Madonnina. One of the most followed derbies. The name was chosen after the statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the Duomo. This statue of the Virgin Mary is also known as the “Madonnina”. The first meet of these football rivals was in 1909 and both clubs had one goal: to be the best club in Milan.

  The derby came about because of the social divide between the supporters. Inter Milan attracted the lower class, while AC Milan attracted the working class. Both teams share the same stadium, officially called Giuseppe Meazza, named after a footballer who was incredibly successful at Inter. AC Milan supporters do not want to hear about this and prefer to call the stadium San Siro. That is the name of the Milan district where the stadium is located

Champions League Kicks Off Again!

🔙🔙 It’s back. It’s that time of the year where everyone has high hopes on why this year is their year. The groups are set and we’ll be hearing the beautiful Champions League anthem come Tuesday.

Paramount has figured out how to replicate an NFL Red Zone type of programming by giving us The Golazo Show, where they jump from game to game for nonstop action. We have two matchups that we think you should keep an eye out for on the first day of play.

⚽ PSG vs Dortmund. Ah, here we go again. Another year, another shot for PSG to prove themselves in the Champions League. It's like a never-ending cycle of hope and heartbreak, but hey, at least it keeps things interesting. And guess what? Their journey begins with a thrilling clash against Borussia Dortmund, in a "group of death" matchup. It's like watching a high-stakes game of chess, but with more shin guards and less checkered boards.

So, my dear friends, buckle up and grab your popcorn because this story line is about to get juicier than a ripe watermelon. Will PSG rise from the ashes like a phoenix and show the world what they're made of? Or will Dortmund rain on their parade? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure – we're hooked on this rollercoaster ride. Stay tuned.

⚽ Milan vs Newcastle. Captain America Pulisic and his crew take on Trippier and the lads from Newcastle. Both teams had a strong finish in their respective leagues last seasons and finished 4th to land a spot in this years tournament. This match is set for the earlier slate starting at 12:45pm EST, meaning if you’re on the east coast, this will be the perfect time to take that long “lunch break”. 😋

Richarlison Sparks Epic Comeback!

🏟️ From Blades to Glory. The stage was set at Bramall Lane, as Tottenham faced a determined Sheffield United side. The Blades took an early lead, leaving Tottenham's faithful supporters on the edge of their seats. The clock was ticking, and it seemed like time was running out for Spurs.

🦸🏻‍♂️ Stoppage Time Heroics. As the clock ticked into stoppage time, the tension rose to unimaginable levels. Then, like a bolt from the blue, Brazil striker Richarlison found the back of the net in the 98th minute, igniting a spark of hope among the Spurs faithful. But the drama didn't end there. Dejan Kulusevski, in a stroke of genius, sealed the victory for Tottenham in the dying seconds of the game in the 100th minute! The eruption of joy from the players and fans alike was simply indescribable.

🎉 The Significance of Victory. This remarkable victory propels Tottenham to their best start in a top-flight season since the iconic 1965-66 campaign. With 13 points from 15, putting the team in second place ahead of a huge London Derby against Arsenal. The team is firing on all cylinders, and the sky seems to be the limit for Ange Postecoglou's men. As both the players and fans are enjoying Postecoglou-ball.

❤️ Another Storyline to Love. The comeback hero, Richarlison, has recently been vocal about the mental health struggles that he has been having. So, it was great to not only see him excel on the pitch, but also to see his teammate and captain, Heung-min Son, make sure that the Brazilian got his well earned standing ovation from the fans, fully cognizant of what Richarlison is currently going through (Pictured above).

Football Without Fans is Nothing

🍺 In search of a pub? Ever find yourself in a new city and are desperately searching for a local soccer pub? Who would have thought that the premier league took time out of their day to create a bar finder. There really is nothing better than catching an early premier league game on the weekends with fellow fans of the game, and finding that bar that will actually have the game sound on just got that much easier.

🗽 USA Bar Finder. Bar finder, aka my nickname in college. Easy to use search platform on the premier leagues website. It has most major cities included, and they’re even accepting updates to their list if you email them at [email protected]

Find your local soccer pub here.

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