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EDITOR PICKS

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

Soccer

Ranking the 20 best players remaining in the Champions League

Finally, the Champions League is back.

Nearly five months after the final whistle blew on the campaigns of Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund, Europe’s flagship competition will be revived on Friday as the remaining second legs in the round of 16 kick off.

Here, theScore runs down the 20 players who’ve made it worth the wait.

20. Angel Di Maria (Paris Saint-Germain)

Di Maria was Paris Saint-Germain’s most consistent player over the 2019-20 Ligue 1 term. He logged twice the number of key passes managed by Neymar, counted a league-best 14 assists, and was fourth for completed dribbles across the whole division at the age of 32. He also opened PSG’s Champions League campaign with two goals in a 3-0 defeat of Real Madrid.

19. Raphael Varane (Real Madrid)

ANP Sport / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Varane’s composure and decisiveness set him apart from his peers, and he’s often the hardest working Real Madrid player on the pitch. The defender’s medal haul is, quite frankly, ridiculous: one World Cup, four Champions Leagues, three La Liga titles, four Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, one Copa del Rey, and three Supercopa de Espanas. He’s only 27 years old.

18. Papu Gomez (Atalanta)

Gomez seemingly cashed in on his career at just 25 when he joined Metalist Kharkiv, but he refused to return for his second season with the Ukrainian side amid warfare between the country and Russia. Now 32, he’s helped drag Atalanta from relegation battles to the knockout rounds of the Champions League under Gian Piero Gasperini. Gomez’s tirelessness, technical ability and acceleration chime perfectly with Duvan Zapata’s finishing.

17. Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid)

Saul is one of the most complete midfielders in world football and a huge reason why Atletico Madrid habitually enter the later rounds of the Champions League. His tactical intelligence and work ethic have led him to be deployed in every position across the midfield and at left-back this season, and he’s thrived in each role. It’s impossible to pick out a weakness in Saul’s play.

16. Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)

Simon Stacpoole/Offside / Offside / Getty

There are plenty of reasons why Napoli reportedly value Koulibaly at €90 million. He’s the imposing general of the Campanian side’s backline, an impeccable reader of the game, and rarely gets caught in possession. He was struggling for form earlier in the season but is returning to his imperious best under Gennaro Gattuso.

15. Eden Hazard (Real Madrid)

It’s been a season to forget for Hazard. “It’s true, I cannot lie, if I’m on holiday, then I’m on holiday,” the Belgian said in January of last summer’s 11-pound gain. And when he’s not in the treatment room, Hazard has done little to ingratiate himself with the Santiago Bernabeu support, notching a single goal across all competitions this season. Real Madrid need to see Hazard’s Chelsea form soon.

14. N’Golo Kante (Chelsea)

Kante doesn’t seem to fit into Frank Lampard’s plans at Chelsea, so he may need to seek a transfer this summer. He won’t be short of any potential suitors. The Frenchman is still the master of breaking up opposition play from the base of midfield: in the Premier League, he averages nearly twice the amount of interceptions mustered by celebrated Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson.

13. Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich)

Visionhaus / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Never write him off. Muller was getting phased out of the first-team picture by Niko Kovac but, after Hansi Flick took the managerial reins in November, the veteran won back his regular starting spot and made history. Muller broke Kevin De Bruyne’s record for assists in a single Bundesliga season with 21 helpers and added eight goals of his own as Bayern Munich won yet another league title.

12. Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich)

Thiago’s tactical know-how allows him to manipulate space and dictate play from the heart of Bayern Munich’s lineup. He completed more take-ons per 90 minutes (3.6) than anyone else in the Bundesliga – and that includes fast, fleet-footed teammates like Alphonso Davies and Kingsley Coman – while averaging 75 successful short passes per match, which was second to only Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah.

11. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid)

Benzema could be on course for his most prolific season in front of goal for four years, and has offered a generous eight assists in La Liga play. “A player improves all the time and that’s what’s happening with Karim,” Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said after Benzema’s backheel assist for Casemiro in a win over Espanyol in June. “He’s at a good age; at around 32 or 33, if you look after yourself as he does, they’re your best years of football.”

10. Paulo Dybala (Juventus)

Nicolò Campo / LightRocket / Getty

Maurizio Sarri admitted he found it difficult to play Dybala and Ronaldo at the same time while maintaining the balance in his Juventus side. But, gradually, the forwards have struck up a strong understanding. Dybala has thrived playing centrally in attack – most effectively as a striker with Ronaldo playing to his left – and racked up 11 goals and six assists in the league en route to being named Serie A’s Most Valuable Player.

9. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)

Gabriel Jesus is likely to lead the forward line in Friday’s second leg against Real Madrid, but Manchester City will be hoping Aguero can shake off his knee injury if they reach the quarterfinals in Lisbon. The Argentine’s scoring never relents – he’s notched 23 goals in 32 outings this season – and, although he isn’t as versatile as Jesus, Aguero’s contribution to other facets of play away from finding the back of the net has improved tremendously with Pep Guardiola’s guidance.

8. Raheem Sterling (Manchester City)

Sterling rediscovered his form while City were plotting an assault on the later rounds of the Champions League. The winger hadn’t rippled the onion bag since December until he crammed in 10 goals over 11 appearances following the resumption of English football in mid-June. The scary thing about Sterling is that, at 25, there’s still time for him to further hone his skills and become even sharper in front of goal.

7. Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)

NurPhoto / NurPhoto / Getty

Kimmich is a world-class player at both right-back and central midfield, the latter of which has been his regular posting at Bayern Munich over the 2019-20 campaign. Kimmich’s versatility is the result of having no deficiencies in his game: his vision and technique are better than most No. 10s, his positioning and anticipation is better than most defensive-minded players, he has the agility and footwork to rival most wingers, and his range of finishing belongs to a top-tier striker.

6. Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)

Sometimes, it feels as if Neymar’s off-the-pitch escapades get more coverage than his tormenting of defenders across Europe, and that’s unfair. The Brazilian forward is often unstoppable, eviscerating the likes of Galatasaray and Borussia Dortmund in Europe and making a mockery of domestic rivals in France. Paris Saint-Germain taking on fellow attack-obsessive Atalanta in the quarterfinals is going be sheer bedlam.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)

Ronaldo made more league appearances in the 2019-20 campaign than he had in each of his previous three seasons, despite turning 35 back in February. The Portuguese superstar is older than the likes of Lukas Podolski, Burak Yilmaz, and Geoff Cameron, but is still out-pacing and outfoxing players over a decade younger than him. He finished the Serie A term with 31 goals and will look to add to his two Champions League tallies against Lyon on Friday.

4. Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain)

Xavier Laine / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Mbappe registered his 19th Champions League goal when he was still 20. Lionel Messi was 22 when he reached that sum, while Ronaldo was 24. The Paris Saint-Germain forward seems set to obliterate records throughout his career and is currently part of one of the most feared frontlines in European football. Could Mbappe add a Champions League medal to his World Cup success and numerous French crowns this month?

3. Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City)

Guardiola prefers his team to not risk possession but makes an exception for his Belgian playmaker. De Bruyne had the second-worst passing accuracy of City’s outfield players over the 2019-20 Premier League term, but his count of 136 key passes is almost 50% more than the top rung’s runner-up in that category, Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish. The weight and spin on the Gent product’s probing passes is mesmerizing.

2. Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)

There’s no debate over the identity of the best striker on the globe. Lewandowski is top scorer in each of the three club competitions he’s featured in this season: the Bundesliga (34 goals), DFB-Pokal (seven), and the Champions League (11). The Pole hasn’t suffered a longer goal drought than two matches – and that happened just once. Lewandowski would’ve been a strong contender for the Ballon d’Or if the ceremony wasn’t canceled last month.

1. Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Quality Sport Images / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Messi is the only Barcelona player in this list. That’s because he’s Mr. Everything: the club’s main creator, goal-scorer, and voice for a dressing room that is increasingly disenfranchised by the rudderless stewardship of president Josep Maria Bartomeu. At 33, Messi still overwhelms his Champions League contemporaries for completed take-ons and is the only person in world football to carry a whole squad on his back every weekend.

Honorable mentions: Alphonso Davies, Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Marquinhos, Fabian Ruiz, Bernardo Silva

NFL

Seahawks monitoring AB, open to Gordon return

7:19 PM ET

  • The 29-year-old Gordon was suspended indefinitely in December for violations of the league’s policies on performance-enhancing substances and substances of abuse. He applied for reinstatement in mid-June with the hope that his indefinite suspension would be lifted in time to sign with a team and participate in training camp.

    Gordon will be an unrestricted free agent if and when he is reinstated. Sources have told ESPN that he’s interested in a reunion with the Seahawks. Gordon caught seven passes for 139 yards in five games with the Seahawks, who claimed the one-time Pro Bowler when he was released off injured reserve by the New England Patriots in November.

    “It’s not in our hands,” Carroll said. “Josh did a really good job with us last year. He fit in really well. He was part of this team by the way we opened and embraced his coming to us but also by the way he adapted. So we are very open to that thought, and we’ll see what happens. I don’t know. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen on that.”

    The Seahawks signed Phillip Dorsett to compete with David Moore to be the team’s No. 3 wide receiver behind Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf. Seattle’s depth chart at the position also includes 2019 seventh-round pick John Ursua and 2020 sixth-rounder Freddie Swain.

NFL

Vikings, GM Spielman reach multiyear extension

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Vikings and general manager Rick Spielman have agreed to a multiyear contract extension, the team announced Monday.

Spielman’s new deal is believed to run through the 2023 season, according to league sources, which would keep him in line with head coach Mike Zimmer, who recently received a three-year contract extension.

“I know every day we come to this building, and the only thing that we want to accomplish is to win a Super Bowl. There’s no one that deserves that honor more than our ownership, this organization and especially our fans. I promise you that when we come in here every day, that is our ultimate goal. Very excited about the extension and look forward to the future,” Spielman said.

Spielman, who has worked with Zimmer since the 2014 season, calls their shared vision “the same” going into 2020.

1 Related

“When Coach Zim came and we hired him as our head coach, we had a vision of how we wanted to build this team,” Spielman said. “I know this year we have a lot of new faces that are coming into the organization, a lot of new players, a totally different challenge because the coaches haven’t been able to work with these players until this time when we’re technically kind of opening up training camp.

“But I think it’s sticking to your principles, sticking to everything that you believe in on how you build a winning culture. He’s talked about it numerous times, from the type of players that we want to bring in that are smart, very passionate, high-character guys off the field. But also I think it’s not only the players, but there’s gotta be that culture with the coaching staff, there’s gotta be that culture with everybody under the football operations umbrella, and when you can bring all that together with the same goals, the same common vision, I think that’s where you hopefully will make the breakthrough.”

Like Zimmer, Spielman had one year remaining on his deal before receiving an extension.

“Rick has been outstanding in his role as Vikings general manager,” Vikings co-owner and team president Mark Wilf said in a statement. “We are excited and honored to have him continue to lead our efforts to build a championship roster and first-class organization. With Rick’s and Coach Zimmer’s leadership in place, we are in a great position to continue to compete for a Super Bowl.”

Spielman is entering his 15th season in Minnesota after joining the club as the vice president of player personnel in 2006 before moving into his role as general manager on Jan. 3, 2012. Under his leadership, Spielman has made more draft picks — 93 — than any other general manager over the past eight years.

The Vikings have made the postseason in four of Spielman’s eight seasons as general manager and reached the NFC Championship Game during the 2017 season. Minnesota’s .570 winning percentage (72-54-2) since 2012 ranks ninth in the NFL and is the fourth best in the NFC over that eight-season span.

“We appreciate Rick’s work ethic, diligence and commitment to the Vikings,” team co-owner and chairman Zygi Wilf said in the statement. “We continue to have the utmost confidence in him as we work to assemble championship-caliber teams to reach our ultimate goal of winning a world championship.”

During the 2020 NFL draft, Spielman turned 12 picks into a seven-round NFL-record 15 selections with two additional picks gained for the 2021 NFL draft through trades. The Vikings’ 2020 class is the largest since the NFL condensed its annual draft to seven rounds in 1994. It also marked Minnesota’s first 15-member class since 1985, tying for the largest overall draft class since 1976, when the team added 17 players over 17 rounds.

NFL

Sources: Jets LB Mosley opts out of 2020 season

New York Jets middle linebacker C.J. Mosley, the most accomplished player on their defense, has decided to opt out for the 2020 season, sources told ESPN.

Mosley hasn’t commented publicly, but a source said it was due to family health reasons.

Mosley, the highest-paid player on the Jets, was due to make a total of $16 million this year. He already received $10 million in the form of a roster bonus, paid in mid-March. He was scheduled to make $6 million in base pay.

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Soccer

  • Watch: Carvajal's header delivers killer blow for Madrid in UCL final

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • An introduction to Top Soccer News on theScore ??

  • Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win 15th European Cup

  • Police arrest dozens of ticket-less fans at Wembley final

  • Dortmund boss Terzic lauds 'brilliant' Sancho after UCL defeat

  • Modric, Kroos among Madrid stars to make history with latest UCL triumph

  • Madrid's inevitability is a superpower no rival can match

  • Transfer window preview: 50 players who could move this summer

  • Vinicius Jr. named Champions League Player of the Season

“If you think about it, I've never held a job in my life. I went from being an NFL player to a coach to a broadcaster. I haven't worked a day in my life.”
-John Madden


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