Europe

Due to the scheduling havoc wreaked by COVID-19 and the resulting extension of the 2019-20 season, the summer transfer was extended until Oct. 5, but when does the January transfer window 2021 open? It’s been a wild ride, but some semblance of normality has returned to European football with the January transfer window set to open on Saturday, Jan. 2 and close on Monday, Feb. 1.

Has the January transfer window changed?

Manchester United have been handed a tough draw in the Europa League last 32 knockout stage where they will face current Spanish league leaders Real Sociedad.

Ole Gunnar Solskjær's side finished third in their Champions League group and dropped into the second tier competition after last week's defeat by RB Leipzig. The clash with Sociedad will see United come up against former Manchester City favorite David Silva, now back in his homeland where he has inspired Sociedad to their excellent start to the domestic season.

Barcelona will face Paris Saint-Germain and former striker Neymar while title holders Bayern Munich are up against Italy's Lazio in the last 16 of the Champions League after UEFA's draw was held on Monday.

The clash of Lionel Messi and Barça with last year's runners-up PSG is a repeat of their remarkable meeting at the same stage in 2017 when Barça overcame a 4-0 first leg loss to beat the French club 6-1 in Spain with Neymar scoring twice for the Catalans.

Lyon handed PSG a 1-0 loss at the Parc des Princes on Sunday to move into second place in Ligue 1 and send the home side down to third, but the result was much more devastating than that — Neymar was stretchered off in injury time after an awful tackle from Thiago Mendes that resulted in a straight red card.

Barcelona stopped the rot — for the time being — by defeating 18th-place Levante 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Sunday to climb to eighth in LaLiga. The home side put 13 shots on target but the only one that counted was Lionel Messi’s angled finish in the 76th-minute following Frenkie de Jong’s well-weighted ball.

It’d been a terrible week for Barcelona as last Saturday’s 2-1 defeat to Cádiz was followed by a 3-0 beatdown from Juventus in the Champions League, a result which condemned Barcelona to facing one of Bayern, Dortmund, Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea or PSG in the Round of 16. 

Jamaican Leon Bailey scored twice to steer unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen to a 4-1 victory over Hoffenheim on Sunday and take over the lead in the Bundesliga for the first time in six years.

Bailey first struck after four minutes, thundering in a shot from outside the box and from a tight angle past keeper Oliver Baumann.

Leon Bailey hit this beautifully pic.twitter.com/ttlv7cxNl3

Weston McKennie has forced his way into Juventus’ starting 11 for the foreseeable future with a hugely impressive eight-day period that culminated with another league assist during Sunday’s 3-1 win over Genoa.

Substitute Hirving Lozano scored one goal and created a second after coming on at halftime to inspire Napoli to a 2-1 win at home to Sampdoria in Serie A on Sunday.

Sampdoria, who are now six matches without a win, went ahead through Jakub Jankto in the 20th minute after he was sent clear by Valerio Verre's through ball.

Police in Amsterdam on Sunday arrested Ajax forward Quincy Promes over his alleged involvement in a stabbing in July, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported.

A police spokesman confirmed the arrest of a 28-year-old man from Amsterdam on Sunday morning in relation to the stabbing of a man in July in the neighboring town of Abcoude, but he did not confirm the man's identity. Ajax could not be reached for comment.