Barcelona striker Thierry Henry would be forgiven for having a sly look at results elsewhere in Europe despite the Catalans' convincing 3-0 Champions League Group E win over Lyon on Wednesday.
After one of the biggest transfer deals of the summer, and a subsequent long wait to find his scoring boots, Henry finally ended his Spanish goal drought with an injury-time goal that moved Barcelona top of their group.
Henry has now scored 43 goals in the Champions League and sits fourth in the competition's all-time list behind Raul (57), Ruud van Nistelrooy (50), and Andrei Shevchenko (47).
PHOTO: AP
But loyal fans would be quick to point out that most of Henry's goals were scored with Arsenal, who at Emirates stadium continued to impress in his absence with a 3-0 win over Sevilla in Group H.
Buoyed by manager Arsene Wenger's further two-year commitment to the club in spite of Henry's departure in the summer, the Gunners were fully deserving of the win over the two-time defending UEFA Cup champions.
Premiership rivals Manchester United were not to be outdone, securing a 1-0 away win at Sporting Lisbon, the first for an English club at Sporting, courtesy of their former starlet Cristiano Ronaldo.
Rangers were celebrating with a deserved 2-1 win over German champions VfB Stuttgart.
The blue half of Glasgow will undoubtedly awake with a smile on its face following arch rivals Celtic's 2-0 humbling at Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday.
One of the biggest shocks of the night came in Istanbul, were Fenerbahce found delight in a 1-0 victory over Italian champions Inter Milan.
Inter coach Roberto Mancini said: "They were better throughout the 90 minutes and deserved to win. We didn't really play well and should have done better."
PSV Eindhoven's 2-0 win over CSKA Moscow at home moved them top of Group G ahead of the Turks, who had striker Deivid to thank for their 43rd minute winner for which Inter had no response.
Elsewhere Serie A leaders Roma continued their impressive form, moving top of Group F ahead of Manchester United thanks to a 2-0 win over Dynamo Kiev.
Slavia Prague made a positive start to their first appearance in the group stages, the Czechs' 2-1 win over Steaua Bucharest moving them to second in Group H behind Arsenal.
Barcelona, meanwhile, were given a boost by Lyon, who have slowly begun to find their rhythm on the domestic front but just couldn't muster an attacking formation against the Spanish league giants.
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to