Hello! An entertaining weekend gives way for a busy week in Europe as the Premier League’s top teams enter the EFL Cup in the third round but first, it’s time to award new winners at Monday’s Ballon d’Or ceremony.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Monday, Sept. 22
🏆 Ballon d’Or, 2 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
🇮🇹 Serie A: Napoli vs. Pisa, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
Tuesday, Sept. 23
🏴 EFL Cup: Lincoln City vs. Chelsea, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EFL Cup: Liverpool vs. Southampton, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇮🇹 Coppa Italia: AC Milan vs. Lecce, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇸 LaLiga: Levante vs. Real Madrid, 3:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN2
⚽ The Forward Line
🏆 First-timers to win the Ballon d’Or?
A collection of the game’s best players will coalesce in Paris on Monday for the Ballon d’Or awards ceremony, with the chances high that first-time winners will collect soccer’s most prestigious individual prizes.
Ousmane Dembele is the favorite to win the men’s prize a few short months after Paris Saint-Germain won their first-ever UEFA Champions League title.
If there is one realistic challenge for the prize, though, it is likely to be Lamine Yamal from Barcelona.
The women’s competition is equally fierce, with Spain teammates Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati among the shortlisted players, indicating a bright future in the post-Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo era.
