Soccer

Goalkeeper Alex Padilla arrived in Mexico City in the early hours of Tuesday morning to undergo medical tests with the Pumas team, in order to become the first reinforcement for the universitarios for the upcoming Clausura 2025 season. The goalkeeper, who comes from Athletic Club, with whom he recently renewed his contract until 2029, will arrive at the Pedregal team on loan for one season, where Padilla expressed his desire to play for UNAM in an interview with the media at the airport: “When I get the opportunity to defend Pumas, I don’t think about it,” said the Mexican goalkeeper. Although it is expected that, after the medical tests to be carried out today, the club will announce the signing between today and tomorrow, it seems complicated that Alex will make his debut this Sunday, January 12, when Pumas receives Necaxa, so it is very likely that the Auriazules will make their debut in this new tournament with a substitute in goal, hoping that Alex Padilla will join the CU team as soon as possible, this after having broken relations with their first two goalkeepers from last tournament, Julio Gonzales and Gil Alcala.

Liverpool and Manchester United shared points after a thrilling 2-2 draw in the English Derby. The “Reds” remain league leaders, while the “Red Devils” sit 13th. Liverpool and Manchester United delivered an intense and highly entertaining English Classic, resulting in a 2-2 draw. With this outcome, Liverpool stays at the top of the Premier League with 46 points, six points ahead of Arsenal, while Manchester United remains in 13th place with 23 points. Scoreless First Half Despite the lack of goals in the first 45 minutes at Anfield, the excitement was palpable as both teams created a couple of dangerous chances, setting the stage for a goal-filled second half. Manchester Struck First The second half kicked off with high energy, and in the 52nd minute, the visitors scored the opening goal. Following a long-ball clearance attempt by Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lisandro Martínez intercepted the ball, played it to Bruno Fernandes on the left wing, and continued his run. Fernandes returned the favor with a perfectly timed through ball, and Martínez unleashed a powerful shot that hit the crossbar and bounced into the net. Liverpool Turned the Tables In the 59th minute, Cody Gakpo equalized for Liverpool. After a cleared free kick, the Reds recovered possession and reignited their attack on the left flank. Gakpo took control at the edge of the box, cut inside, and unleashed a powerful shot into the far corner of the net, scoring a stunning goal. At the 70th minute, Liverpool’s star of the season, Mohamed Salah, stepped up. After a handball by De Ligt was confirmed via VAR, Salah confidently converted the penalty, marking his 18th goal of the season and putting Liverpool ahead 2-1. Manchester United Salvaged the Draw With just 10 minutes left, the “Red Devils” launched an attack down the left wing. Alejandro Garnacho sent in a cross before reaching the goal line, finding Amad Diallo in the center of the box, who slotted it home to secure a 2-2 draw.

With a solitary goal by Ousmane Dembélé at 90+2′, Paris Saint-Germain defeated Monaco in the Super Cup final. This game took place in Doha, Qatar, at the 974 Stadium, where although PSG was insisting with arrivals throughout the game, it was not until stoppage time that Fabian Ruiz sent a low cross from the left that ran through the large area, to the boots of Dembélé, who only pushed the ball into the open goal. With this victory, PSG won the French Super Cup for the third time and their thirteenth title of this kind, being the most winners of this tournament. You may be interested in: Arsenal drew with Brighton and dropped points Cover image: X (@tdc_qatar)

With a double by Erling Haaland, a goal by Phil Foden and an own goal, Manchester City starts to recover from the bad streak they experienced at the end of 2024. Manchester City defeated Wets Ham by a score of 4-1 and everything seems to indicate that the team led by Pep Guardiola left behind the bad moment they experienced in the last months of last year, where they could only obtain two victories from October to December. An own goal opened the scoring The actions at the Etihad Stadium started very well for the home team, as just 10 minutes into the game, the first goal was scored for the “Cityzens”. Savinho’s cross from the left flank was brushed by Vladimír Coufal’s studs, which produced a deflection towards the near post, where the goalkeeper had already thrown himself in the middle of the small area trying to stop the shot, but he was left out of the play and the score was 1-0. Haaland’s double to extend the lead City continued to insist, in search of more goals, but good interventions by Areola prevented his goal from falling almost the entire first half. It was not until the 42′, when the Norwegian striker Erling Haaland made his presence felt; in a very good play by Savinho, the Brazilian sent a precise cross from the left, the ball covered the goalkeeper and two defenders for Haaland to simply give a slight jump, which with his 1.94 m height was enough to push the ball into the net with his head. In the second half, Manchester City’s attack did not cease and at 55′, the “Android” again made his name on the scoreboard, in a filtered pass again from Savinho, the Norwegian drove the ball in the big area and before the mark of a defender, and the exit of Areola, Haaland showed quality and chopped the ball to avoid the attempted save and make it cross the goal line almost in a slow face. Foden closed City’s account Three minutes later, at 58′, West Ham made a mistake at the start, the defense of the London team gave the ball to Kevin De Bruyne almost in the big area, the Belgian set up Phil Foden who only shot at goal before a save from the goalkeeper that was not enough to prevent the 4-0. Füllkrug scored the goal of honor Finally, in the 71st minute, Wets Ham’s consolation goal came in the form of a cross from the left by Tomas Soucek, which Niclas Füllkrug connected with to make it 4-1. City must continue their quest for the top places With this result, Manchester City is sixth in the Premier League, with 34 points, but three points away from being third in the league, so the “Sky Blue” team must continue to add victories and leave behind the bad moment they experienced at the end of the year. Cover photo: X (@ManCity)

The Arsenal team was surprised by Brighton, who rescued a draw against the “Gunners” to make them stumble in their race for the title, because with this 1-1 draw, they reached 40 points, being 5 points behind Liverpool, who in case of winning their match against Manchester United, would be 8 points ahead. The game at Brighton Stadium started with a goal for the visitors in the 16th minute, with a great run down the right flank by Ethan Nwaneri, who went straight into the box and took a shot that beat the goalkeeper to make it 0-1. You may be interested in: In freezing weather, Liverpool and Manchester United will face each other But after this, Brighton reacted and it was in the second half, at 61′, when Joao Pedro tied the game through a penalty, in a foul committed on him, in a clash of heads with a defender inside the area, where the striker connected first with the ball and then the clash of heads took place. Cover photo: X (@Arsenal)

Despite the inclement weather, Liverpool and Manchester United will play another edition of the English soccer derby. Yesterday, the English Derby was at risk of not being played due to a yellow alert issued by local authorities due to heavy snowfall in the city of the same name as the Anfield team. Finally, Liverpool announced that it is preparing its stadium and clearing it of snow so that another match of the biggest rivalry in English soccer can take place. The game will take place at 10:30 a.m. Central Mexican Time. Liverpool has the chance to increase its lead in the first place by 8 points, and with their great season they are doing, they arrive as the favorites; while Manchester United urgently needs to win, because what they need now more than ever are points, as currently, with 22 points, they are closer to the relegation places than to the European competitions. Cover image: X (@LFC)

With significant challenges, Real Madrid managed to overturn a 1-0 deficit to secure a 1-2 victory against Valencia, thanks to goals from Luka Modric and Jude Bellingham, despite playing with 10 men. Real Madrid was on the brink of losing their grip on the La Liga leadership during their match against Valencia, currently second-to-last in the standings. Trailing for nearly 70 minutes, it was in the final five minutes of regulation time, plus stoppage time, that Madrid turned the game around, with Jude Bellingham scoring the decisive goal to propel his team to the top of the table. Valencia Takes Madrid by Surprise The match at the Mestalla began positively for the hosts, who created two early chances that forced Thibaut Courtois into action. It wasn’t until the 27th minute that Valencia capitalized on a counterattack. Dimitri Foulquier sent a cross from the right flank, which Javi Guerra struck first-time, hitting the post. The rebound fell into the center of the six-yard box, where Hugo Duro finished it off to give Valencia a 1-0 lead. Madrid Faces Further Setbacks In the second half, Real Madrid’s struggles intensified. In the 55th minute, Jude Bellingham had the chance to equalize from the penalty spot following a foul on Kylian Mbappé in the box. However, his shot hit the left post, missing the opportunity to level the score. Four minutes later, a potential goal from Mbappé was disallowed due to an offside call. Then, in the 79th minute, Vinícius Jr. received a red card for striking Valencia’s goalkeeper in the neck. The incident occurred after Vinícius was pulled up by the goalkeeper following a challenge in the area, which led to the heated exchange and subsequent dismissal. Modric and Bellingham Deliver the Comeback Despite being a man down, Real Madrid continued their offensive push. In the 85th minute, a well-executed attacking play resulted in Luka Modric receiving a through ball, leaving him one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Croatian veteran calmly slotted the ball into the net, equalizing the score. In stoppage time, at 90+6 minutes, Valencia’s defense faltered. A careless turnover in their defensive line allowed Bellingham to recover the ball near the edge of the box. Facing the goalkeeper, the Englishman placed a precise shot into the net, completing the dramatic comeback and sealing the 1-2 victory for Real Madrid. New La Liga Leader With this win, Real Madrid now leads La Liga with 43 points, surpassing Atlético Madrid, who sit at 41 points but have a game in hand. Barcelona remains in third place with 38 points and will need to improve their form to stay in contention for the top spot.

One of the most fruitful relationships in soccer in recent years is on the rocks. It is about Liverpool and Mohamed Salah, where despite the player is having an incredible season, scoring 20 goals and providing 17 assists in his 26 played in this first half, the Egyptian mentioned in an interview with Sky Sports that, as of today, he believes that this will be his last season with Liverpool. All this because the talks to renew his contract, which ends in June 2025, are at a standstill. Because of this, the “Pharaoh” shared that, should it be his last season with the club, he would like to do something special, like winning the Premier League. Cover image: X (@MoSalah)

There is no rest for Arsenal, as just 3 days after moving up to second place, the “Gunners” will play again today, when they visit Brighton. In this game, Mikel Arteta’s team will be looking to close the gap with first place Liverpool, because if they get the three points, they would be just one more win away from reaching the “Reds”, but only if Liverpool plays tomorrow’s game against Manchester United and loses. This game will start at 11:30 a.m., Central Mexican Time. Cover image: www.arsenal.com