Paris Saint-Germain beat Barcelona 4-2 on Tuesday, but the reigning champions lost the best player in last season’s tournament, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. This autumn has seen much lobbying for the Ballon d’Or, with the Georgian a popular choice, despite his absence from the World Cup. He is expected to be out for six months, although Rodri’s comeback from serious injury – he was rested by Barcelona on Tuesday until coming off the bench in the 60th minute – shows it can take far longer than that for players to rediscover their highest level.
The PSG policy of resting players in Ligue 1 to save them for the Champions League failed to protect him. By resting Rodri, Barcelona followed a wider practice among major clubs in European competition of saving stars’ legs for big domestic occasions. Barcelona face Real Madrid this weekend though Lamine Yamal is not being spared; his brilliant goal in Paris made it 10 goals, matched by 10 assists, from 10 matches.
Another heavyweight battle saw Arsenal lose Bukayo Saka to a first-half quad injury in an entertaining 2-2 draw at Bayern Munich. Declan Rice powered in a late equalizer after Harry Kane had put on a show that included a goal and an assist. Does the Ballon d’Or beckon for Kane?
The prediction markets suggest so. Matching Barcelona’s perfect record this season at home and abroad are Manchester City, who continue to thrive amid infamy. A resurgent Phil Foden scored a hat-trick and new signing Allan impressed.
The official crowd for their 5-1 defeat of AEK Athens was 40,402, but it looked smaller, and mockery duly descended on the club. There is mitigation for those who stayed away, including high ticket prices for Champions League matches in tough economic times, and a run of five home matches in 17 days. Still, City remain in the crosshairs, and the empty seats raise eyebrows for a club reporting record revenues.
Equally, it is fair to point out that Anfield was not full, either, for Liverpool’s 4-3 defeat of Villarreal. A clean sweep of wins for Serie A, with three of their clubs scoring four goals. Inter let the side down with their 1-0 defeat of Shakhtar Donetsk.
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