Gab Marcotti explains Paulinho’s move back to Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande and wonders if Barcelona has another big move coming soon.
Paulinho celebrated his 100th game in the Chinese Super League on Sunday with two goals as Guangzhou Evergrande moved to within three points of the summit with a 5-0 win over Tianjin Quanjian.
The Brazil midfielder, who rejoined Guangzhou in July after a season with Barcelona, gave them the lead after 15 minutes and added their third goal in the 57th after Ricardo Goulart had doubled the lead.
Anderson Talisca added two more in the final 16 minutes as Quanjian made it five league games without a…
Gab Marcotti explains Paulinho’s move back to Chinese club Guangzhou Evergrande and wonders if Barcelona has another big move coming soon. Jonathan Soriano’s 87th-minute strike earned Beijing Guoan a 2-1 win over Henan Jianye on Wednesday evening to move Roger Schmidt’s side into first place in the Chinese Super League — as Anderson Talisca had a debut to remember with a hat trick for Guangzhou Evergrande.
Beijing moved a point clear at the summit and ahead of Shanghai SIPG, who were held to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday evening with Shandong Luneng, as the league completed its first round of action since resuming after the World Cup break.
Cedric…
ESPN FC’s Stevie Nicol and Alexis Nunes predict the next batch of last-16 clashes, headlined by Brazil-Mexico and Colombia-England.
The guys respond to your tweets about Brazil-Mexico, Simeone for Argentina, Uruguay’s World Cup chances and Mbappe’s performance against Cavani’s.
Seb Salazar and Herc Gomez delve into how the weather in Samara may play a role for Mexico and how it’s now all-or-nothing for Juan Carlos Osorio.
SAMARA, Russia — When Neymar found himself face-to-face with Serbia goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic on Wednesday night, four minutes from the end of a keenly-contested meeting in Moscow, it seemed as if Brazil’s showman might at last get his party piece. He’d already missed one decent chance and this time, his luck would run similarly low: out came his opponent, spreading his limbs like a starfish to block Neymar’s effort. Rather then peeling away in delight as the net bulged, the PSG star turned…
Paulinho has signed for Bayer Leverkusen.
Bayer Leverkusen completed the signing of Brazilian forward Paulinho from Vasco da Gama for next season in what the Bundesliga club called “a real coup.”
The 17-year-old Paulinho signed a contract through June 2023, effective from his next birthday on July 15.
A transfer fee was not disclosed, but kicker magazine in Germany reported Leverkusen took advantage of financial problems at Vasco da Gama by having its offer of just under €20 million accepted — €10m less than his release clause.
However,…
Brazil manager Tite insisted he will not rush Neymar back for the World Cup if the forward is not fit to play.
With 100 days to go until the FIFA World Cup, Ian Darke joins a group of ESPN writers and experts for a roundtable discussion…
Lionel Messi scored his first goal against Chelsea in nine matches as Barcelona return to the Camp Nou ahead on away goals.
Lionel Messi scored his first goal against Chelsea in nine matches as Barcelona returned to the Camp Nou ahead on away goals.
The FC boys break down all the talking points between Chelsea and Barcelona, including Conte’s squad selections, Barcelona’s underwhelming performance and who deserved more in the 1-1 draw.
Relive the best of Tuesday’s Champions League action, as Bayern Munich routed Besiktas and Lionel Messi silenced Stamford Bridge. Lionel Messi broke his duck against Chelsea on his ninth attempt to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
The Catalans dominated possession but fell behind after Willian curled home from outside the area, but Andres Iniesta capitalised on a Andreas Christensen error to tee up Messi, who grabbed a vital away goal for Barcelona with 15 minutes to go.
Positives
Messi ended his personal drought against the Blues and in doing so, saved Barcelona…
ESPN FC’s Alejandro Moreno assesses Javier Mascherano’s legacy and importance to Barcelona during his near eight-year spell with the club.
Javier Mascherano struggled to hold back the tears as he announced his exit from Barcelona after nearly eight years.
Paulinho says he wasn’t affected by all the negative attention after his failed kick-ups at his Barcelona presentation last summer.
Paulinho’s €40 million arrival at Barca from Guangzhou Evergrande raised questions among supporters after the sale of compatriot Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain.
Those doubts were magnified when a video from his presentation went viral after he dropped the ball while attempting some skills on the Camp Nou pitch.
“I saw the jokes on the internet, my friends were…
Barcelona stretched their league unbeaten streak to 25 games, thanks to Lionel Messi’s goal and assist in a 3-0 win over Levante.
Barcelona stretched their league unbeaten streak to 25 games, thanks to Lionel Messi’s goal and assist in a 3-0 win over Levante.
Lionel Messi marked his 400th La Liga game with a goal and assist as Barcelona kicked off 2018 with a comfy win over Levante.
It wasn’t Barcelona’s brightest display of the season but goals from Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Paulinho ensured they started as they left off in La Liga, with a 3-0 win over visitors Levante. The win maintained their nine-point lead on Atletico Madrid at the top of the table and kept the Catalan side unbeaten on the season.
Levante put out a weakened side due to suspensions and a lingering suspicion they wouldn’t take anything home from Camp Nou in any case, and Barcelona took advantage with…
Lionel Messi missed his second penalty kick of the season, while Luis Suarez and Paulinho scored twice for Barcelona against Deportivo.
Barcelona got in the mood for next week’s Clasico by thumping Deportivo La Coruna 4-0 with doubles from both Paulinho and Luis Suarez.
Lionel Messi had a hapless night in front of goal, hitting the woodwork three times and seeing his penalty saved by his old Barca B teammate Ruben Martinez, as well as missing the target from a good position in either half, but still played a key role in the victory.
Positives
Barca had looked underwhelming in their previous three games but this was a complete performance…
Brazil coach Tite stresses performances, not results, will be the priority during the Selecao’s preparation for the World Cup.
Gabriel Jesus says Neymar has been positive, as always, with Brazil despite reports of a rift at PSG.
Brazil midfielder Willian says his side must continue to improve if they want to achieve their goal of winning the World Cup in Russia next year.
Defender John Stones says facing Germany and Brazil at Wembley will bring out the best in England.
Wembley could have been Paulinho’s home this season if things had worked out differently for him at Tottenham. Instead, on Tuesday, he’s a visitor to England’s national stadium — Spurs’ temporary home — as an integral part of a Brazil side which finally appears to have recovered from the depression which followed a 7-1 humiliation to Germany in the World Cup semifinals over three years ago.
Paulinho, like Brazil, suffered after that seven-goal embarrassment in Belo Horizonte. For around 18 months,…