Game Recaps

Philippe Coutinho was given his first start for Barcelona vs Alaves on Sunday. It wasn’t until he was subbed off that the Blaugrana really got going, rallying late for a 2-1 victory thanks to some Messi magic at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi scored on a gorgeous free kick in the 84th minute to secure all three points for Barcelona, which trailed for most of the match after an early Alavés goal. It was another moment of joy from the Argentine maestro, who had a first-half free kick touched onto the post but came through with the match on the line. 

Some players just have an aura about them, a mystique that lifts the play of everyone around them, whether or not they’re on the pitch. The second-most expensive footballer of all time has to fit that bill, probably. How else do you explain Barcelona defeating Espanyol 2-0 to advance 2-1 on aggregate in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey on Thursday at the Camp Nou?

Is the magic gone at Real Madrid? That’s an impossible thing to say about the back-to-back world champions, but a shocking Copa del Rey quarterfinal elimination at the hands of Leganes (a club from the outskirts of Madrid that plays its home matches in front of 11,000) is the lowest it’s gotten for Zinedine Zidane when coupled with the 19-point gap in La Liga. 

The French manager went with an understrength side after defeating Leganes 1-0 away in the first leg, although understrength still means starts for Sergio Ramos, Isco, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio. 

Arsenal advanced to the Carabao Cup final after defeating Chelsea 2-1 Wednesday at the Emirates Stadium. An opening 12 minutes of comedic defending from both sides led to goals from Eden Hazard and Antonio Rudiger — the defender scoring an unfortunate own goal to bring Arsenal level — but Granit Xhaka popped up to score the winner on the hour mark.

You can read about the Sevilla-Atletico Madrid Copa del Rey tie on just about any soccer website in existence, but it is only HERE AT THE18 that you can read a full breakdown on Sergio Escudero's first-minute volley goal vs. Antoine Griezmann's 13th-minute volley goal.

So.

Escudero:

Serie A returned after a short winter break and everything seemed to go according to plan. Napoli won. Juventus won. Benevento lost. Pretty much par for the course.

Chelsea moved into a tie with second-place Manchester United on 50 points following the club’s 4-0 beatdown of Brighton on Saturday morning. The Blues were led by the phenomenal Eden Hazard, who scored a brace while also contributing one of the filthiest hockey assists you’ll ever see.

We’re exactly 31 days away from Barcelona’s visit to Stamford Bridge in the Champions League Round of 16, and the 27-year-old Belgian is obviously back to his best a month before that titanic encounter.

Hazard gave Chelsea the lead in the third minute with a rifled finish from 10 yards out.

Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà had himself one helluva first half. The second-choice keeper behind Jan Oblak kept the first half scoreless with an incredible save on Sevilla’s Sergio Escudero during their Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg. But the Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla match turned when a Moyà howler helped propel the visitors to a 2-1 victory in Spain’s capital city on Wednesday, Atleti’s first loss to a Spanish side at the new Wanda.

Here’s a tip for all you defenders out there: If you are called for a foul just outside your box and want to fall to the ground holding your face in disbelief, at least do it in front of the ball so the opponents can’t punish you like in this Radamel Falcao goal vs Nice on Tuesday.

A day after Manchester City was beaten for the first time in the Premier League, Manchester United flexed its muscles with some pretty goals against Stoke City. The Red Devils pulled within 12 points of their league-leading rivals. So, do we have a title race? Don't be silly.