The league phase has been previewed as Barcelona’s first step toward reclaiming a crown last lifted in 2015, with disappointments aplenty since. Lionel Messi claiming just one Champions League title in the last decade of his time at Camp Nou is the starkest statistic. The player anointed as Messi’s successor, Lamine Yamal, is already a European and world champion for Spain, so this is the next frontier.
A soggy Wednesday evening at Camp Nou saw Hansi Flick’s team show their attacking chops remain of the highest quality in a 5-1 defeat of Feyenoord. The club presidential regime of Joan Laporta continues to pull levers to confound financial experts, with Gabriel Jesus, one of the summer’s arrivals, scoring his first Barca goal. Yamal got on the scoresheet via a scruffy free-kick after Raphinha had reminded there are further dimensions to that all-star attack, his first goal of his pair two sending Feyenoord defenders skidding.
Until Troy Parrott headed to Seville this summer, the chances of Real Betis v Lille being a leading attraction to the Irish diaspora were minimal. But now the team in green and white have become an Irish obsession. The goalscorer in their World Cup playoff win in Hungary last year is approaching national hero status.
Opting for Andalusia instead of leading West Ham in the Championship confirmed him as a player with broad horizons; the former Tottenham trainee is hitting the heights in La Liga. Having scored the winner against Real Madrid last weekend, throwing back to José Mourinho his rejection when a Spurs teenager, he delivered again in northern France. His dragged, left-footed finish grabbed a 3-2 lead Betis successfully held.
If that still holds true, his Friday and Tuesday will have gone close to emulating it. Weird scenes after Fenerbahce’s 1-1 draw with Roma when Ismail Kartal, the Turkish club’s veteran coach, resigned post-match “to clear the way”. The drama was heightened when the Fenerbahce president, Aziz Yildirim, said he would not be accepting the resignation.
We are a family.” The explanation given for such a sudden exit was Kartal’s annoyance at a bottle being lobbed in his direction. Ballon D’Or season is upon us, and a leading nominee must be Bayern’s brilliant Michael Olise, who scored two goals against Bodø/Glimt. The Norwegians attempted to aggressively mark him but were left with twisted blood as his team scored five second-half goals.
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