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Billy Haisley

Jhon Duran of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC at Villa Park on December 21, 2024 in Birmingham, England.

Jhon Durán Can’t Stop Putting Goals On Film

Patrick Redford

Vermont players react to winning the game during the NCAA College Cup semifinal match between the Denver Pioneers and the Vermont Catamounts on December 13, 2024 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC.

Vermont Won A Historic National Championship In Fittingly Dramatic Fashion

Luis Paez-Pumar

Amad Diallo of Manchester United scores their side's second goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Manchester United FC at Etihad Stadium on December 15, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Manchester City So Deep In Hell That It Can’t Even Beat Manchester United

Memphis Depay of Corinthians celebrates after scoring the team's third goal during the Brasileirao 2024 match between Corinthians and Bahia at Neo Quimica Arena on December 3, 2024 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Memphis Depay Was Made For Brazil

Jhon Duran of Aston Villa celebrates scoring his team's second goal with teammates during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD6 match between RB Leipzig and Aston Villa FC at Leipzig Stadium on December 10, 2024 in Leipzig, Germany.

Aston Villa Is Built For This

Samer Kalaf

ESPN FC studio reacts to a fart-like noise

Media Meltdowns

ESPN Soccer Show Once Again Derailed By Fart-Like Noise

Moises Caicedo of Chelsea is fouled by Yves Bissouma of Tottenham Hotspur leading to a penalty which is scored by Cole Palmer of Chelsea to make it 2-2 during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Chelsea FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on December 08, 2024 in London, England.

Never Doubt Tottenham’s Inability To Capitalize On Chaos

Detail view of the captain's arm band worn by Marc Guehi of Crystal Palace during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace FC and Newcastle United FC at Selhurst Park on November 30, 2024 in London, England.

Marc Guéhi Avoids Punishment For Twice Undermining Premier League’s LGBT Campaign

Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrating after scoring the second goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Anfield on December 01, 2024 in Liverpool, England.

Liverpool Is Winning A Battle Of Attrition

Lily Yohannes of the United States looks to the ball

Enjoy The Lily Yohannes Victory Lap

Matheus Cunha of Wolverhampton Wanderers scores his team's first goal whilst under pressure from Joachim Andersen of Fulham during the Premier League match between Fulham FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Craven Cottage on November 23, 2024 in London, England.

Matheus Cunha Is A Wolf In Wolves Clothing

<p>Lesley Ryder is a writer and a host covering the Chicago Red Stars. She co-created <a href="https://galpalsports.com/">Gal Pal Sports</a>, a platform that lives to make women’s sports fun for everyone.</p>


Lesley Ryder

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 22: NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman addresses the media ahead of the NWSL 2024 Championship at CPKC Stadium on November 22, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman Keeps Talking Around The San Diego Wave Lawsuit

James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur scores their 1st goal during the Premier League match between Manchester City FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Etihad Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Manchester, England.

Tottenham Is As Dangerous As Anyone, When It Wants To Be

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<div>Abigail Segel is a contributing writer at Defector. She is also an editor for The IX Soccer and the Equalizer. Her work has been published in the Guardian and the Montreal Gazette.</div>
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Abigail Segel

Marta #10 of the Orlando Pride celebrates after the Pride defeated the Washington Spirit 1-0 to win the NWSL 2024 Championship Game at CPKC Stadium on November 23, 2024 in Kansas City, Missouri.

Orlando Runs Away With The NWSL, And The Rest Will Have To Catch Up

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia is playing during the UEFA Nations League 2024 League B Group B1 match between Ukraine and Georgia , at the Poznan Arena in Poznan, Poland, on October 11, 2024.

Even A Little Khvicha Kvaratskhelia Goes A Long Way

ST LOUIS, MISSOURI - NOVEMBER 18: Christian Pulisic #10 of the United States celebrates scoring during the first half against Jamaica leg two of the 2024 Concacaf Nations League Quarterfinals at Citypark on November 18, 2024 in St Louis, Missouri.

The Best And The Worst Of Christian Pulisic

Tom Ley

Marta #10 of Orlando Pride battles during the NWSL Playoff Semifinals between Orlando City v Kansas City Current at Inter&amp;Co Stadium on November 17, 2024 in Orlando, Florida.

The Pride Feasted On Kansas City’s Fear

Referee David Coote gestures during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Aston Villa FC at Anfield on November 09, 2024 in Liverpool, England.

Premier League Ref Scandal Now Includes White Powder And A Gutted Lad

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 21: Match Referee David Coote gestures during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Arsenal FC at Selhurst Park on August 21, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Premier League Ref Admits Video Of Him Talking Wild Shit About Liverpool Not Actually A Deepfake

Mateo Kovacic of Manchester City reacts after they lose the match during the Premier League match between Brighton &amp; Hove Albion FC and Manchester City FC at Amex Stadium on November 9, 2024 in Brighton, England.

Manchester City Is Stuck In The Mud

Fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv stage a pro-Israel demonstration at the Dam Square, lighting up flares and chanting slogans ahead of the UEFA Europa League match between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax in Amsterdam, Netherlands on November 07, 2024. Maccabi fans clashed with pro-Palestinian citizens and ripped off Palestinian flags hung on the streets. In the lead-up to the Ajax vs Maccabi Tel Aviv match, several areas of Amsterdam have been designated as security risk zones.

The Media Can’t Figure Out Why Some Racist Israeli Soccer Hooligans Were Beaten Up

Sporting Lisbon's players celebrate after Swedish forward #09 Viktor Gyokeres scored his team's fourth goal during the UEFA Champions League, league phase day 4 football match between Sporting Lisbon and Manchester City at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on November 5, 2024.

The New Champions League Format Actually Rocks

Manchester City's Spanish midfielder Rodri (L) receives the Ballon d'Or award from former President of Liberia and former Liberian football player George Weah (2L) as he wins in front of second-placed Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior and third-placed Real Madrid's English midfielder Jude Bellingham during the 2024 Ballon d'Or France Football award ceremony at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on October 28, 2024.

The Best Isn’t Always Enough For The Ballon d’Or


<p><a href="https://twitter.com/petesegall?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pete Segall</a> lives in Chicago. His fiction has appeared in <em>The Bennington Review</em>, <em>Conjunctions</em>, <em>The Drift</em>, and elsewhere.</p>


Pete Segall

Manchester United players Tommy Taylor, left, and Ken Morgans, line up before playing Arsenal at their Highbury Stadium, 1st February 1958. This was Taylor's last match, he died in the plane crash that killed 8 of the Busby Babes team in Munich less than a week later.

Defector Reads A Book

In David Peace’s ‘Munichs,’ The Dead Are Everywhere You Look

Raphinha of FC Barcelona celebrates 0-4 with Lamine Yamal of FC Barcelona during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Real Madrid v FC Barcelona at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on October 26, 2024 in Madrid Spain