Passing

Barcelona stayed within two points of Real Madrid and five of Atlético following a comforting 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Elche at the Camp Nou on Wednesday. Lionel Messi was the star of the show with two goals before playing a large role in Jordi Alba’s third, and the Argentine is now LaLiga’s outright top scorer with 18 goals in 22 games. 

The first half saw nice bits of skill from Frenkie de Jong, Messi and Pedri, but Barcelona couldn’t find the opener with Francisco Trincão wasting the best opportunity of the opening 45.

There are a lot of questions being asked in Munich after Bayern dropped points for the second time this week, losing 2-1 to in-form Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. But no one can question the skill, panache and sheer brilliance of the Leroy Sané assist vs Frankfurt for Bayern’s lone goal.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang gets the headlines after netting his first Premier League hat-trick in Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Leeds United at the Emirates on Sunday, but the goal that best highlighted the Gunners’ superiority was scored by Héctor Bellerín with must-see contributions from Bukayo Saka and Dani Ceballos. 

Chelsea notched up their first win under Thomas Tuchel on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Burnley thanks to goals by Spanish defenders César Azpilicueta and Marcos Alonso who have both been given a chance to shine under the German coach.

Azpilicueta was entrusted with a place in Chelsea's starting lineup by Tuchel in his two games since replacing Frank Lampard and he scored with an angled shot in the 40th minute after sprinting 80 yards to seize on a lay-off by Callum Hudson-Odoi.

From living a total “nightmare” to being closely monitored by Manchester United, what a difference six months can make. On Wednesday, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano went full circle by providing an influential performance in Napoli’s Coppa Italia Round of 16 win over Empoli.

In the year 2021, Lionel Messi will turn 34 while Cristiano Ronaldo turns 36 in just one month’s time. Playing in their first matches of the New Year on Sunday, the duo showed just how important they remain to their respective clubs by providing match-winning moments.

Over in Spain, Messi returned from his extended winter break to appear in his 500th LaLiga match for Barcelona. He’s the first non-Spanish player to reach the milestone, and among active players, only Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos (505) and Real Betis’ Joaquín (565) have more.  

I like to wait until clubs and players come face-to-face with Newcastle United before I pass judgement on them — I have yet to form an opinion on such things as Bayern Munich and Lionel Messi — but I’m now ready to give you the Tifo Football breakdown of Marcelo Bielsa’s freewheeling side: They’re much better than Newcastle.

Weston McKennie’s incredible form for Juventus — two goals and an assist in his last three games — should’ve continued (statistically speaking) on Wednesday in the 11th minute of his club’s Serie A encounter with Atalanta.

The 22-year-old American won the ball in midfield and carried it at the heart of the defense before playing through Álvaro Morata. Before watching the video, know that the Spanish striker was onside.

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.