Premier League

Kevin De Bruyne has the clutch gene.

With Manchester City trailing Real Madrid 1-0 on a goal by Vinicius Jr. in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal matchup Tuesday, De Bruyne found the back of the net in the 67th minute to set up what should be an exhilarating second leg later this month.

The goal marked De Bruyne's third straight tally in the first leg of a Champions League semifinal match dating back to the 2021 semifinals against Paris Saint-Germain.

Additionally, it was the Belgian's 11th goal for City in the knockout stages of the Champions League, the most by any Sky Blues player in the tournament's history, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

After falling to Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals last season, Manchester City enter the second leg in much better position to reach the final for the first time since 2021, and fans praised De Bruyne for his clutch play:

While Manchester City will look to De Bruyne to keep his clutch play going in the second leg, it will also hope Erling Haaland can find the back of the net.

If City reaches the final, it would take on AC Milan or Inter Milan, which will play leg 1 of their semifinal Wednesday.

Man City has never won the Champions League.

JJ Watt is taking his new role as a part-owner of English soccer club Burnley seriously.

Well, OK, not that seriously.

The recently retired defensive end appeared on BBC Breakfast on Tuesday and said he took part in a pub crawl for "research" purposes as he gets acclimated to his post-football career:

"I did a pub crawl yesterday on my way to the stadium, so I started at the Royal Dyche, I worked my way down to Vintage Claret, all the way up to Turf Moor, and just getting to know the supporters. I just want to earn their trust by showing them how much we care and how passionate we are. ...

"It's research. I'm doing research, lots of pints of Guinness along the way. But it was a lot of fun and it was really good to get to know them on a personal level, and hopefully they get to know us as well."

Watt and his wife, former USWNT midfielder Kealia Watt, were announced as part owners of the franchise last week. Burnley won the EFL Championship this season, clinching promotion to the Premier League, and Watt was in attendance Monday at the team's last match of the season.

Burnley won top-flight titles in 1921 and 1960, though the club has never finished higher than seventh in the top tier since the Premier League era began in 1992.

Erling Haaland already passed Liverpool's Mohamed Salah for the most Premier League goals in a 38-game season, surpassing the former record of 32 goals with a whopping seven league games remaining.

And now he holds the overall record as well.

The irrepressible Manchester City forward scored his 35th Premier League goal on Wednesday, surpassing the 42-game scoring record of 34 goals set by both Andrew Cole in 1993-94 and Alan Shearer in 1994-95.

Haaland accomplished the feat in just 31 matches played, and City still have five more matches for him to add to his tally. Oh, and he's only 22 years old. And this is his first year in the Premier League, which many people consider the strongest domestic league in world football and the most physically demanding.

Up next for Haaland is trying to catch Ron Davies, whose top-flight record preceded the formation of the Premier League:

There's an argument to be made that Haaland has just registered the greatest season in Premier League history, and it's not even over yet. He's more than likely going to win a title with City this campaign, and he has the chance to even hit 40 goals and put some serious distance between himself and everyone else on the single-season scoring list.

At this point, the only question seems to be which records he won't smash:

If injuries don't slow him down in his career or if he doesn't grow bored of the Premier League and decides to seek a new challenge, it's possible that we are witnessing the opening act from a player who will one day be considered the greatest forward in Premier League history.

It's hard to imagine anybody ever having a better debut season than this.

A 21-year-old man was arrested during Tuesday's match between Arsenal and Chelsea for allegedly shining a laser in Chelsea winger Mykhailo Mudryk's face.

According to Ali Rampling of The Athletic, the Metropolitan Police said the man was arrested on "suspicion of a public order offense."

During Arsenal's 3-1 home win over Chelsea at Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday, Mudryk came on as a substitute in the 71st minute. Almost immediately upon entering the pitch, a green light could be seen shining on Mudryk's face.

Per Rampling, Arsenal fans heavily booed Mudryk, likely due to his decision to join Chelsea on an £88.7 million transfer in January after consistent speculation that Arsenal would sign him.

An Arsenal spokesperson released a statement on the laser incident and subsequent arrest, saying: "An arrest has been made following the use of a laser during last night's match. This behavior is dangerous and totally unacceptable, and we will fully support the police with their enquiries and take action as appropriate."

The 22-year-old Mudryk largely starred at FC Shakhtar Donetsk in his native Ukraine before becoming available on the transfer market and choosing Chelsea over several other interested clubs, including Arsenal.

Mudryk has yet to score a goal in 11 EPL appearances for Chelsea, but he scored seven times in 12 matches for Shakhtar Donetsk this season before joining the Blues.

While landing Mudryk was potentially a major coup for Chelsea, it has been a nightmarish 2022-23 season for the club overall.

They are 12th in the EPL standings with just 39 points, whereas Arsenal are atop the table with 78 points, although Manchester City are just two points behind with two matches in hand.

If Chelsea remain in their current spot in the standings, it will mark their worst finish since a 14th-place result during the 1993-94 Premier League season.

J.J. and Kealia Watt announced Monday that they've become minority owners in English soccer club Burnley.

J.J. joked that he's "officially retiring from retirement" after bringing his legendary NFL career to an end following the 2022 season. Kealia, meanwhile, boasts plenty of experience in the game. She last suited up for the NWSL's Chicago Red Stars in 2021 and has represented the United States national team.

In Monday's announcement, the Watts emphasized the importance of recognizing Burnley's long history:

When you invest in a club that's been around since 1882, you must have great respect for its history and tradition. We understand that not only are we investing in the squad and manager, we're investing in the town and its people. We take that responsibility very seriously and intend to work hard in earning their trust and support.

They witnessed the atmosphere at Turf Moor firsthand when they attended Burnley's 3-0 win over Wigan on March 11.

Now is a great time to come aboard.

The Clarets are one week removed from securing the EFL Championship title, which guarantees them promotion to the Premier League, an achievement that brings more stature and significantly higher revenues. Deloitte estimated moving up to England's top division can be worth £170 million to a club over three seasons.

On the day that Manchester City all but won the Premier League title, Erling Haaland made history.

The unstoppable City forward scored his 33rd EPL goal in City's 4-1 shellacking of Arsenal on Wednesday, surpassing the former record of 32 goals held by Liverpool's Mohamed Salah.

The utter absurdity of Haaland's record-setting day is that City still has seven Premier League games remaining. Haaland has played in 29 of the club's 31 EPL contests, meaning he's scored an absurd 1.14 goals per game this season.

Yes, that means if he plays in the remainder of City's games, he's on pace for 40 goals.

Manchester City, meanwhile, still trails Arsenal by two points on the table. But the Citizens hold two games in hand and have a massive advantage in goal differential (plus-53 to plus-40), meaning they are well in the driver's seat to win a fifth EPL title in the past six seasons.

Chelsea's Champions League run crashed and burned in the quarterfinal round after falling 4-0 on aggregate to Real Madrid after Tuesday's 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge.

Rodrygo scored in the 58th and 80th minutes for the 2-0 victory.

This match looked far better on paper for Chelsea than the first leg last Wednesday, when the Blues lost 2-0 and were outshot and outplayed before they were down a man for the final third after Ben Chilwell got sent off for a straight red card.

Chelsea had 19 shots (six on goal) compared to seven (three on goal) the first time around. The Blues also had eight corner kicks and possessed the ball 54 percent of the time.

But none of that led to a goal as Chelsea's run of poor form in Premier and Champions Leagues continued. Chelsea has gone winless in its last seven matches, scoring just three goals in that span.

This was undoubtedly a painful blow for Chelsea, and Twitter turned its eye toward interim manager Frank Lampard and the legendary midfielder's lineup, tactics and decision-making.

Specifically, fans wondered why Lampard, who managed the club for 84 matches from 2019 to 2021, didn't opt for a lineup more likely to score goals with the team down 2-0 following the first leg.

Chelsea is now out of the Champions League this year, and the Blues surely won't find themselves there next year with the team currently 11th in the Premier League table and 17 points behind fourth-place Newcastle United with seven matches remaining.

Erling Haaland continues to tear up the Premier League and etch his name into the record books.

During Manchester City's 3-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday, Haaland tied Mohamed Salah's record for the most goals in a 38-game season when he tallied his 32nd goal of the 2022-23 campaign in the 25th minute.

Haaland also scored on a penalty shot in the 13th minute.

"I want him to break all the records," Man City manager Pep Guardiola told reporters after the game. "That means he scores a lot of goals and that helps, but I think what he wants is to win the title and be there. We still have to play eight games, and he is close to playing all of them. We have to take care of him because his injuries are long so after 45 minutes it was good for him to rest."

Manchester City signed Haaland from Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in June 2022, agreeing to a five-year deal with the Citizens.

The signing has helped propel the team to the top of the Premier League table as they sit second with a 22-4-4 record and 70 points, three points behind first-place Arsenal.

Haaland and Manchester City will be back in action on April 19 in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern Munich.

At the end of the first half in Sunday's 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Liverpool, cameras appeared to show assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis elbowing Liverpool's Andrew Robertson as the fullback was attempting to speak with him.

According to ESPN's Dale Johnson, the Professional Game Match Officials Ltd. (PGMOL) will be investigating the situation.

"PGMOL is aware of an incident involving assistant referee Constantine Hatzidakis and Liverpool defender Andrew Robertson at half-time during the Liverpool vs. Arsenal fixture at Anfield," the organization, responsible for overseeing match officials in English football, said in a statement. "We will review the matter in full once the game has concluded."

Robertson had grabbed Hatzidakis' arm while appearing to protest something with the assistant referee, and as Hatzidakis lifted his arm to free it from the Liverpool fullback, he appeared to catch him in the face with his elbow.

"I didn't see it," Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp said after the match. "I heard that the pictures speak for themselves, but I can't speak about it because I didn't see it."

Sky Sports pundit and former player Gary Neville was among those shocked by the moment.

"I've never seen an official raise an elbow to a player," he said on the television broadcast (h/t The Athletic). "I think he'll be in a lot of trouble after this game ends."

Neville's colleague, former player Roy Keane, offered a far different take.

"Does Robertson grab the linesman first? I'm not sure but Robertson's then complaining," he said. "He should be more worried about his defending. Do you know what he is, that Robertson? I've watched him a number of times, he is a big baby, that's what that guy is. Just get on with the game and concentrate on your defending. He does grab the linesman first."

The PGMOL, however, at least believes that an investigation into the situation is in order.