Author: Joe Soriano

Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2010. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has run sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling.

Real Madrid quietly get brutal Kylian Mbappe injury news before Benfica match
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Injury News

Real Madrid quietly get brutal Kylian Mbappe injury news before Benfica match

Kylian Mbappe is by far the most important Real Madrid player right now, and ahead of a heated second leg against Benfica, the Frenchman is reportedly not 100 percent, per French outlet L'Equipe, due to a left knee injury. Although Real Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa confirmed at Tuesday's press conference before Wednesday night's match against the club of Jose Mourinho that his French superstar will be healthy enough to play and is pushing to play despite significant pain, L'Equipe say that Mbappe had to stop the training sessions before the match on Tuesday due to discomfort in the knee. Mbappe missed two games in January this season with a knee issue, and although he tried playing through pain to save Xabi Alonso's job, Real did end up shutting him down for a bit. So they have t...
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Michael Carrick is phasing out Manchester United’s worst player
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
News

Michael Carrick is phasing out Manchester United’s worst player

Manchester United have improved by leaps and bounds since firing Ruben Amorim and replacing him with former midfielder Michael Carrick, who has wasted no time in banishing the club's least impressive player, Manuel Ugarte. Since taking over on January 13, Carrick has not started the overpriced Ugarte, one of many high-profile transfer busts for Man United over the years, in a single Premier League game. In total, he's appeared in just three games in league play since Carrick became Manchester United manager, totaling 28 minutes in those three appearances with his most playing time in any one game coming against Fulham on Feb. 1 when he played 16 minutes off the bench in a 3-2 win. Manchester United are a team revived under Carrick, who has gotten the most out of the talented forwa...
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Dortmund get decisive injury news before facing Bayern Munich and Atalanta
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Injury News

Dortmund get decisive injury news before facing Bayern Munich and Atalanta

Borussia Dortmund hold a vital but still tenuous 2-0 lead over Atalanta in the first round of the Champions League playoffs, and they will like their chances even more with The Athletic's Bundesliga correspondent Seb Stafford-Bloor reporting that star center back Nico Schlotterbeck was able to train and has been named to the club's squad for the game. BVB were able to pitch a shutout against La Dea without Schlotty available, but the presence of one of the best center backs in the Bundesliga was sorely missed over the weekend in a hard-fought, 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig, whose wingers Brajan Gruda and Yan Diomande torched them while Christoph Baumgartner put Serhou Guirassy to shame with two beautiful poached goals. It's been a tough stretch of games for Dortmund, who, after facing La ...
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Barcelona are looking to Manchester City for their main Julian Alvarez alternative
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Barcelona are looking to Manchester City for their main Julian Alvarez alternative

Aside from Joan Laporta's usual suspects Erling Haaland and Rafael Leao, Julian Alvarez has become one of the chief superstars linked to Barcelona as a possible summer 2026 attacking signing, but if his poach from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid becomes too difficult, current Manchester City star forward Omar Marmoush is the main alternative, according to a report from Diario Sport. Alvarez has been a sensation in European football since moving from River Plate to Manchester City back in the summer 2022 transfer window. His clinical finishing and positional versatility made him an immediate hit, but the young striker wanted to leave Man City pretty quickly after achieving treble success, wanting to step out of the shadow of elite No. 9 Haaland. Well, be careful what you wish for. It i...
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Trent Alexander-Arnold set to get big opportunity for Real Madrid vs. Benfica
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
News

Trent Alexander-Arnold set to get big opportunity for Real Madrid vs. Benfica

Real Madrid are set to face Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League playoff round on Wednesday night, and in their latest starting lineup prediction, Diario AS have Trent Alexander-Arnold as the starting right back in the XI. TAA starting for Real Madrid is no surprise, of course, and he needs to be a regular in the lineup going forward now that he's healthy. Although a time share with legend Dani Carvajal seemed likely when the season started, Real have to be switching gears after watching the 34-year-old get embarrassed over the weekend by academy graduate Victor Munoz in a 2-1 loss to Osasuna at El Sadar. Real Madrid have a 1-0 advantage on Benfica, but after losing to them in the last game of the league phase, there is no margin for error for the Kings of the Champions ...
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Arsenal to battle Juventus for one of Serie A’s elite goalkeepers
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Arsenal to battle Juventus for one of Serie A’s elite goalkeepers

Arsenal already have one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League in David Raya, but that has not stopped them from showing interest in top young keepers. Their latest target is Atalanta star Marco Carnesecchi, who is one of the finest shot-stoppers in a Serie A loaded with goalkeeping talent. Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport reports that Arsenal have joined the biggest club in Italy, Juventus, with interest in Carnesecchi, who had previously been linked to Manchester United before the Red Devils ultimately signed Senne Lammens. Carnesecchi is a human highlight reel and has been one of Serie A's best keepers statistically over the past couple of seasons. The Atalanta star has save percentages of 74.3, 75.4, and 79.0 in the last three seasons, so he is getting better and be...
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Inter Milan will let one of their declining stars leave this summer transfer window
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Inter Milan will let one of their declining stars leave this summer transfer window

Inter Milan goalkeeper Yann Sommer was crucial to the club reaching the Champions League Final last season, but his play has fallen off a cliff this season. Per a report from Sky Sport Italia's top transfer insider Gianluca Di Marzio, Inter will not be re-signing Sommer this year and will let him walk in free agency this summer 2026 tranfer window. Sommer is one of the best goalkeepers of his generation. He was a secret superstar for years with Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga and the latest shutdown Swiss goalkeeper. He memorably set a record for the most saves in a Bundesliga game in yet another upset of Bayern Munich and once stopped a clutch Kylian Mbappe penalty in the European knockout stages. After a brief stint as Manuel Neuer's emergency replacement with Bayern ...
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Paulo Dybala in talks with another club amidst Roma’s renewal attempts
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Transfer News

Paulo Dybala in talks with another club amidst Roma’s renewal attempts

Paulo Dybala could be the latest big name to leave European football to end his career, as transfer insider Matteo Moretto is reporting that the legendary Serie A forward is in talks with Argentinian giants Boca Juniors for a free agent move this June, even as his current club Roma are "evaluating" a contract renewal offer. A star for Palermo and Juventus in his peak years, Dybala was still a Serie A MVP level player at Roma, having moved from the Bianconeri to the Giallorossi a few years ago after the Old Lady deemed him injury-prone and finish. Dybala took Roma to European finals under Jose Mourinho, and even at the age of 32 and with Father Time truly starting to show, Dybala remains one of the best central playmakers in Serie A with 2.4 key passes and 1.5 fouls drawn per game acr...
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Thibaut Courtois said what every Real Madrid fan thinks about Jose Mourinho’s Vinicius Jr. comments
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
News

Thibaut Courtois said what every Real Madrid fan thinks about Jose Mourinho’s Vinicius Jr. comments

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois is a leader in the locker room for his club, and like the rest of his teammates, he has publicly come to the defense of Vinicius Junior, who was likely racially abused by Benfica's Gianluca Prestianni in the Champions League playoffs. Benfica manager Jose Mourinho tried to claim that a racist incident could not happen because Eusebio, one of the greatest Black players of all time, played for Benfica, and the former Real Madrid manager also disappointed many by claiming Vinicius Jr. provokes racism by the way he celebrates his goals, dancing. Courtois was not having any of that. Via Fabrizio Romano, the Real Madrid icon expressed his disappointment with Mourinho for his comments on Vincius Jr., stating that while he understands managers have to ...
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Alejandro Balde on the verge of losing his starting spot at Barcelona
24Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
News

Alejandro Balde on the verge of losing his starting spot at Barcelona

Although Alejandro Balde has been one of the best young left backs in world football, the Barcelona man's performances have slipped in recent seasons, and with Joao Cancelo back in Blaugrana colors, a change could be coming for Hansi Flick. As Gabriel Sans of Mundo Deportivo notes, Flick has now left Balde out of the starting lineup in back-to-back games. Meanwhile, Cancelo was the best player on the pitch in Barca's most recent La Liga encounter, a 3-0 win over Levante. In that game, Cancelo assisted once and registered three key passes with three combined tackles and interceptions and three combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn in a great all-around performance. Cancelo was previously at Barcelona and just joined them again in the winter transfer window, signing on loan fo...
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