Lion Links: 1/22/24

Happy Monday, everyone! I’m dragging this morning, but I hope you’re feeling energized and ready to attack the week. As always, we have a lot to talk about today, but before we get started, let’s wish a happy birthday to Orlando City fullback Mikey Halliday!

Youthful Yanks Lose to Slovenia

The United States Men’s National Team dropped its friendly match to Slovenia by a score of 1-0 on Saturday afternoon. With a January camp roster composed largely of young players, the USMNT turned in a disjointed and fairly uninspired performance, although the team did manage to create a few chances. A bright spot for Orlando fans was the national team debut of Orlando City’s Duncan McGuire, who entered the fray in the 61st minute to earn his first cap. The USMNT will next be in action on Mar. 21 when it takes on Jamaica in the semifinals of the Concacaf Nations League.

MLS Transfer Happenings

There are a few weekend transfer moves to catch up on in Major League Soccer, and they’re all of the outgoing variety. We’ll start in Houston, where the Dynamo have sold Thorleifur Ulfarsson to Debreceni VSC in the Hungarian top flight. Ulfarsson becomes the second striker to leave the club during the off-season after Corey Baird joined FC Cincinnati as a free agent.

Staying in the Western Conference, we turn to the Vancouver Whitecaps, who have sold midfielder Caio Alexandre to Brazilian side Fortaleza, which has in turn sold him to Bahia.

We finish at Atlanta United, which has loaned midfielder Santiago Sosa to Racing Club in Argentina’s first division. His departure means Atlanta’s central midfield is currently comprised of Tristan Muyumba, Bartosz Slisz, and Dax McCarty.

European Title Race Updates

The European leagues rolled on over the weekend and there are some notable results to catch up on that affect title races. We start in Germany, where Bayern Munich dropped a shocking 1-0 result to 13th-place Werder Bremen. The loss leaves the Bayern seven points off first-place Bayer Leverkusen, although the reigning champions do have a game in hand.

Over in Italy, Weston McKennie had an assist on Dusan Vlahovic’s second goal, and Juventus beat Lecce 3-0 to take a one-point lead at the top of Serie A over Inter Milan. Inter has a game in hand, and the league is looking like a three-horse race between Juve, Inter, and AC Milan, which sits in third and is seven points behind Juventus.

In Spain, Artem Dovbryk scored a hat trick in seven minutes and Girona hammered Sevilla 5-1 to keep a one-point lead over Real Madrid in La Liga, although once again, Real has a game in hand.

We finish in England, where Darwin Nunez and Diogo Jota each scored braces and Liverpool beat Bournemouth 4-0 to open up a five-point lead in the Premier League. You guessed it though, Man City has a game in hand.

Mike Maignan Walks Off

AC Milan beat Udinese 3-2, but the most important story from the game was Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan walking off the field after being subjected to racist abuse from the stands. After Milan took the lead in the first half, the goalkeeper spoke to the referee before walking down the tunnel, resulting in the game being briefly suspended. He called for strong sanctions for the fans who had made monkey noises towards him, and emphasized that simply talking doesn’t do anything to stop racist abuse. Madrid star Vinicius Jr. also called for harsher punishment of racist fans in light of the incident.

Free Kicks

• Duncan McGuire’s USMNT debut also came with the debut of a new hairstyle.

• The Orlando Pride thanked Jordyn Listro publicly over the weekend, meaning the restricted free agent’s second stint with the club has come to an end. The Pride signed/drafted several defensive midfielders this off-season to upgrade that position group.

• Inter Miami’s Facundo Farias will miss the 2024 season after tearing his ACL during the team’s preseason game on Friday. Inter Miami drew 1-1 against El Salvador.
• Mohamed Salah has left the African Cup of Nations to rehab a hamstring injury at Liverpool.
• Almeria was left furious about VAR decisions in its game with Real Madrid, after three officiating calls helped Real Madrid come back and record a 3-2 win.

That’s all I have for today. Y’all stay safe out there.