SaturdayJuly 18
SPAIN:Tercera play-off clash
between Canary Islands sides
Marino and Tamaraceite sees
fans return to stadiums in Spain
for the first time since March.
ITALY:Zlatan Ibrahimovic hints
at a longer stay in Milan: “It’s a
great honour to play100 games
for Milan. I hope to play lots
more,” said the 38-year-old.
ENGLAND:Arsenal beat
Manchester City 2-0 in the FA
Cup semi-final, with a brace from
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
USA:Diego Rossi scores four
goals as Los Angeles FC thrash
LA Galaxy 6-2 inEl Trafico.
SundayJuly 19
IRAQ:Iraq Football Association
announces that the league will
return on September 20, having
previously abandoned the
2019-20 season.
GREECE:Thousands of
Olympiakos supporters gather
outside the Georgios Karaiskakis
Stadium to celebrate the club’s
45th league title.
TURKEY:Istanbul Basaksehir beat
Kayserispor1-0 to win the Turkish
Super Lig title for the first time
with a game to spare.
ENGLAND:Manchester United
lose 3-1 to Chelsea in the second
FA Cup semi-final at Wembley,
with poor errors by goalkeeper
David De Gea costing his team.
Stories from the four corners of the football world
SPAIN:La Liga season concludes.
Barcelona beat Alaves 5-0, with
Leo Messi securing his seventh
PichichiTrophy – and fourth in
a row – while Villarreal win 4-0
in Santi Cazorla’s final game for
the club. Relegated Leganes twice
come from behind to draw 2-2
with champions Real Madrid.
MondayJuly 20
AFRICA:The Confederation of
African Football confirms that the
2023 edition of the Africa Cup
of Nations will be played inJune
andJuly in the Ivory Coast.
FRANCE:MagazineL’Equipe
announces that the Ballon d’Or
will not be awarded in 2020 due
to the coronavirus fallout.
ITALY:Cristiano Ronaldo scores
his 50th Serie A goal, becoming
the first player to reach a half
century in England, Spain and Italy,
and the quickest player to reach
the milestone in Italian football.
TuesdayJuly 21
SPAIN:Lucas Ocampos is voted
La Liga’s best signing byMarca,
ahead of Ferland Mendy, Diego
Carlos,Jules Kounde and Frenkie
deJong. Meanwhile,Joao Felix,
Antoine Griezmann,Junior Firpo
and LukaJovic feature in the
worst signings of the season.
WednesdayJuly 22
ENGLAND:The Championship
season concludes with WestBromwich Albion securing
automatic promotion. Fulham,
Brentford, Cardiff City and
Swansea City make up the
play-offs teams, while Hull City,
Charlton Athletic and Wigan
Athletic (following a points
deduction) are relegated.
Meanwhile, Liverpool lift the
Premier League trophy after
a 5-3 victory over Chelsea.
USA:David Villa denies allegations
of sexual harassment during his
time at New York City FC in MLS:
“These accusations are entirely
false. I deny them. I will fully
co-operate with the club.”
ITALY:Brescia’s relegation from
Serie A is confirmed with a 3-1
defeat to Lecce, joining SPAL
in demotion to Serie B.
ThursdayJuly 23
ENGLAND:Birmingham City
announce that they are retiring
the No.22 shirt following the
departure ofJude Bellingham.
CZECH REPUBLIC:It’s announced
that no team will be relegated from
the Czech Republic’s top flight. The
competition was left unfinished
after players tested positive for
coronavirus, with Slavia Prague
already crowned champions.
FridayJuly 24
ENGLAND:Liverpool midfielder
Jordan Henderson is named
Football Writers’ Player of the Year.FRANCE:Paris Saint-Germain
lift their fifth Coupe de France in
six seasons with a1-0 win over
Saint-Etienne, having lost to
Rennes on penalties in 2019.
SaturdayJuly 25
AUSTRALIA:Sydney FC secure
their fourth A-League title after
second-placed Wellington Phoenix
draw1-1 with Adelaide United,
giving Sydney an unassailable
lead with four games of the
regular season to play.QATAR:Former Barcelona star
and current Al Sadd coach Xavi
tests positive for coronavirus.
IRAN:Persepolis seal their13th
league title, and become the
first Iranian team ever to win the
competition four times in a row.
SundayJuly 26
ENGLAND:The Premier League
season concludes with Chelsea
and Manchester United securing
Champions League football by
finishing in the top four. Watford
and Bournemouth join Norwich
City in being relegated to the
Championship. Leicester City
strikerJamie Vardy secures the
Golden Boot, the first of his career.
ITALY:Juventus wrap up the
Serie A title, their ninth in a row,
by beating Sampdoria 2-0.
SAUDI ARABIA:French striker
Bafetimbi Gomis extends his
contract at 2019 AFC Champions
League winners Al Hilal for
a further two years.
MondayJuly 27
SCOTLAND:Hearts’ relegation
from the Scottish Premiership
is confirmed after an arbitration
panel upheld the Scottish Football
Professional League decision to
settle the curtailed season on
a points-per-game basis.
SPAIN:Juventus-bound midfielder
Arthur refuses to join Barcelona’s
squad for the ChampionsChampions...Sydney FCJULY 18-AUGUST 14, 2020
Costly errors...David De Gea