Europe

Barcelona, the defending Copa del Rey champions, are on the cusp of being able to defend their title after defeating Atletico Madrid 2-1 in Madrid. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi put Barca up 2-0 by halftime, but Antoine Griezmann managed to pull one back for Atletico in the 59th minute. 

Over 48,000 inside the Vicente Calderon witnessed a nightmare start as Suarez opened the scoring for Barcelona in the seventh minute. With Javier Mascherano returned to the defensive midfield role, his crunching tackle saw the ball roll free to Suarez. 

Ukrainian international Roman Zozulya was set to move to Madrid and become a much-needed scoring threat for a struggling Rayo Vallecano side. 

Rayo reached a deadline-day loan deal with Real Betis and was hoping to count with Zozulya in its battle against relegation in the Spanish second division. However, instead of a savior’s welcome, Zozulya was received with protests by fans when he arrived in Vallecas.

Now, why would fans of a struggling second division club protest against the arrival of an international-level player?

Well, it was because of stuff like this:

Pep Guardiola’s first season in England is not going to the way he planned. His Manchester City side are currently out of the top four, endangering their chances of qualifying for the Champions League — let alone winning the title. 

They also have the most losses out of all teams in the top six with five defeats, and conceded the most goals with 28. The team has many problems on the pitch, and converting their chances inside the final third seems to be the biggest one.

The January transfer deadline window passed without the need for everyone to lose their collective minds over a deal like Karim Benzema to Burnley or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal or any of the other clubs he really likes.

Match fixing has rocked international soccer to a disturbing degree. The 2006 Italian football scandal will forever remain a dark mark on the histories of clubs like Juventus and Fiorentina, among others. Portugal, Germany and Brazil have also had their league's sporting integrity compromised by corrupt referees.

Real Madrid’s mini-crisis heading into the weekend was completely reversed in a matter of hours. First, Barcelona travelled to Sevilla to play Real Betis. In a match that Barca were heavy favorites in, they found themselves trailing 1-0 in the 79th minute. 

Then, after Neymar had been dragged down in the box with no foul given, a Betis defender sent the ball into his own goal. It clearly crossed the line, but a desperate clearance from inside the net was adjudged to have prevented the goal by the referee.

Cast your eye over the fixture list this past week and you might be forgiven for thinking that Serie A was taking a moment to recuperate. As the Coppa Italia fixtures grew increasingly heated, with the major sides playing one another, the league featured nothing of the sort. When the highest-profile game is Udinese versus Milan, then the week’s results can probably be pencilled in before a ball has been kicked.

What if the European leagues adopted a playoff system to determine league winners? For many this idea may sound crazy, but it shouldn’t be fully discarded. Although Europe is considered to have the best leagues in the world, there are many who criticize it for being too predictable and noncompetitive.

Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez finally ended his goal drought dating back to October 1st by scoring against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday. Chicharito’s sixth goal of the campaign arrived in his 17th league match amidst rumors of a possible January transfer exit. 

Darren Bent, former England international and Tottenham Hotspur forward, is a proper forward’s forward. The 32-year-old has scored over 200 goals in his career, and he doesn’t faff about around the net. So when the football made its way to him on his own goal line, he did what Tommy Smyth is apparently talking about when he says put a bulge in the old onion bag. 

He bulged that bag with a left-footed slice that had Lionel Messi beaming from ear to ear. That’s how you use your left, son! Get in!