Let's start this Champions League match report with one particular talking point: Change is always difficult, especially for our soccer overlords in England, and there's going to be a lot written about how Real Madrid's negative approach at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday exemplifies UEFA's mistaken decision to do away with the away goals rule.
Real Madrid’s Casemiro will miss the second leg against Paris Saint-Germain for yellow card accumulation. The Brazilian picked up a yellow card in the first half at the Parc de Princes for a hard tackle on Leandro Paredes. Casemiro should consider himself lucky to have not seen a red card for what happened after the tackle.
While the incident is brief, Casemiro clearly grabs a hold of Paredes’ neck after the challenge.
The knockout stages of the Champions League begin Tuesday with what's arguably the most eagerly anticipated Round of 16 matchup ever — a clash between the club that never settles for anything less than lifting the trophy, record 13-time winner Real Madrid, and the club whose entire apparatus is hellbent on making that happen for the first time, PSG.
Argentinian club Newell's Old Boys have always dreamed of seeing Messi wearing its No. 10 jersey. And that dream is kind of a reality these days.
The only thing is this Messi is not the global superstar Lionel but a young fellow named Joaquín. And that's the catch.
Joaquín Messi is part of the Newell's Old Boys team currently playing Copa Libertadores U-20, and his last name has promptly caught the attention of all those involved in the competition. And one of the first questions he is asked is if they are related.
There aren't many symbols in the footballing world that indicate "it's business time" quite like Marta's red lipstick or Cristiano Ronaldo's noodle hair, but Lionel Messi taking out the gold cleats is quickly getting there.
PARIS - Paris Saint-Germain continued their march towards the Ligue 1 title as Marco Verratti inspired them to a 4-0 home victory against Reims on Sunday and Lionel Messi made his first appearance of the year.
Italy midfielder Verratti found the back of the net for PSG for the first time since 2019, while Sergio Ramos scored his first goal for the capital side. Wout Faes scored an own goal, and Danilo Pereira added another to put PSG on 53 points from 22 matches.
The comparisons between Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are a never-ending story. And everything they do could be considered a valid category for a head-to-head between them. For example, CR7 has more goals and kids than Messi, while Messi has more Ballon d'Ors and a more expensive car collection than Cristiano.
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Argentina has left Lionel Messi out of their squad for World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia as the Paris St. Germain forward continues his recovery from COVID-19 infection.
The twice World Cup winners and current Copa America champions have qualified for the finals in Qatar and sit second in the 10-team South American group.
The 34-year-old Messi was omitted from Argentina’s 27-man squad after not playing for PSG since Dec. 22 against FC Lorient in French Ligue 1.
You: Drives a crummy old car you just hope will get you through another winter. Famous footballer: Drives half a dozen cars that cost more than you make in a year. Life isn’t fair, but that doesn’t mean we can’t gawk at a list detailing which soccer player has the most expensive car collection in the world.
PARIS — Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Ligue 1 trip to Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday as he continues his recovery from COVID-19, the capital club said on Saturday.
The Argentine forward is back in Paris from his home country after testing negative but has not been cleared to play.
Lionel Messi will miss PSG's trip to Lyon as he continues his recovery from Covid-19 ❌ pic.twitter.com/CuLRzgi96R