Since arriving in 2019, there's been an unreasonable amount of matches in which Antoine Griezmann’s most memorable contribution is a piece of tracking back and putting in defensive work. He’s basically like a $142 million Blaise Matuidi.
Real Madrid have increased their offer to sign Paris St Germain forward Kylian Mbappé to $211.48 million after having an initial $188 million bid rejected, French newspaper L'Equipe reported on Thursday.
MADRID - It might be a new season, but the same old Atlético Madrid are in town. Meanwhile, is Vinícius Júnior finally ready to flourish? And does Manuel Pellegrini have a point about the entertainment value of the league?
Here are the talking points from the weekend's action in LaLiga.
New season, same Atlético
BILBAO - Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has admitted opposition sides are being bolder against his side now that they can no longer count on Lionel Messi, after the Catalans were held 1-1 away to Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga on Saturday.
A thumping late strike from Memphis Depay cancelled out Iñigo Martínez's header to earn Barça a point but Koeman admitted his team were still keenly feeling the absence of their all-time top scorer and former captain, two weeks after he left Barça for Paris St Germain following 21 years at the club.
Barcelona salvaged a 1-1 draw against Athletic Club with a rather uninspiring performance on Saturday. A litany of injuries and the massive hole left behind with the departure of Lionel Messi had Barcelona looking like a shell of its former self.
The injuries for Barcelona include:
Things only got worse for Barcelona when Gerard Pique was forced to leave the game early in the first half with an injury.
Offensive reinforcements are arriving at the Emirates Stadium in North London, and they couldn't come at a better time. Just a few days after a lackluster opening day defeat to Brentford, Arsenal has signed attacker Martin Ødegaard on a permanent transfer worth nearly $50 million.
The Norwegian had a successful loan spell at the club last season, joining on loan from Real Madrid in January 2021 and making 14 appearances during the second half of the campaign.
La llegada de Lionel Messi al PSG fue como la caída de un meteorito en el planeta fútbol, sin embargo, puede que no sea el único evento cósmico en este mercado de pases.
The Women’s International Champions Cup returns on Wednesday, giving us a rare glimpse of how the best club sides in Europe match-up with the NWSL elite. This year’s tournament boasts the defending UEFA Women’s Champions League winner, Barcelona, and the most recent NWSL champ, the Portland Thorns.
Barcelona logró una fortificante victoria por 4-2 en su primer partido de LaLiga en la Era DM (Después de Messi).
Tras la dolorosa salida del astro argentino, por problemas financieros del club, aún es extraño ver una formación blaugrana sin su apellido. De hecho, es primera vez en 18 años que su nombre o su figura está completamente fuera de la película.
Pero bueno, habrá que acostumbrarse, ¿no?
There’s life without Lionel Messi in Barcelona, but if it continues in the same vein as Sunday’s 4-2 win over Real Sociedad, it’s going to be a batshit crazy existence.