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Real Madrid vs Barcelona Because of how big of a game El Clasico was, and how exciting it turned out to be, I had no choice but to devote this post to it alone.  Both teams come into this game as equals. Barcelona and Real Madrid have had relatively shaky starts to the season by their standards, and the game could go either way. Zinedine Zidane had never lost a game at the Camp Nou coming into this fixture. This was Ronald Koeman's first Clasico as a coach, and he intends to show that he is worthy as a manager. Barcelona starts by pressing intensively immediately after kick off, trying to narrow the passing lanes of Los Blancos. Madrid are very calm on the ball however, with Raphael Varane and Ferland Mendy getting high up the field and creating space. This looks effective so far, but the Barcelona fullbacks are doing their part to keep out the madrileños for now. Impressive starts for both teams. Madrid’s determination to see out the attacks bears fruit, as they dispossess Barcelona during one of their plays. Karim Benzema then runs down the field, and passes a great ball through the static Barcelona defense, and to the feet of Fede Valverde! The Uruguayan rifles the shot past the fingertips of substitute keeper Neto! GOOOOOOAAAAAL!!!  Gerard Piqué should be blamed for the goal, as he wasn't aware of where Valverde was, and wasn't marking anyone at all. Real Madrid have made the perfect start to the game, and should look to build off from where they succeeded.  Only a few minutes later, Barcelona come back on the attack. Real Madrid can’t cope with the magic of Messi! The Argentinian lofts a perfectly weighted ball to Jordi Alba, who then lays a cross to Ansu Fati inside the box, to poke home beyond Thibaut Courtois!!!  GOOOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!   1–1!!! It is an instant response to conceding so early in the game. Sergio Ramos and Varane were in the area as well, but the delivery was spot on, so there was nothing that they could do about it. A scintillating first few minutes where neither team had really settled into the game, allows both teams to score one apiece.  As the teams appear to have found their legs again and with the tempo leveling out, you can really see the quality from both sides. Sergino Dest looks super comfortable in his right-back position, even though this is his first Classico. Jordi Alba is playing his best game in years. His passes are crisp, he has great ball control, and his vision is on point. Toni Kroos's passes are again of the highest quality, most noticeably just now when he almost assisted Benzema in the 24th minute of the game, only for the Frenchman to fluff his lines and fire it straight to Neto! Incredible! HALFTIME: BARCELONA 1–1 REAL MADRID With the second half underway, Real Madrid really are starting to show how organized they are. Unfortunately the Blaugranas are reduced to passing to the back, and to the sides. Casemiro is keeping the midfield in check, while Ramos is showing the leadership that we all know, rallying his fullbacks to go where they need to be. Every pass that gets into the box is either cleared away from danger, or pounced on by Courtois. Real Madrid again continues to tire Barcelona out, creating attacks of their own. On the hour mark--IT’S A PENALTY!!! Kroos delivers a great ball into the box from a free kick, after a handball from Dest. Clément Lenglet pulls on Ramos’s shirt, restricting his mobility. Although Ramos does exaggerate the circumstance by getting down on the ground, VAR takes a look at the situation, and deems it in fact a foul, contrary to the referees’ initial decision. Ramos steps up--Ramos scores!!! GOOOOOOOAAAAAAALLLLL!!! Although Neto guesses right and goes the correct way, the spot kick is low and hit with lots of power. Real Madrid are 2-1 up. Real Madrid continue to apply the pressure on Barcelona. Just minutes later, a GREAT chance! Kroos receives a brilliant pass from Lucas Vasquez, and hits it straight at Neto. Neto then drops it, but saves it again from the German! Neto is having a top performance. Real Madrid are unlucky not to be 3-1 up. Barcelona, on the other hand, need to step up their game! However, just minutes later, Luka Modric puts in a great through ball to Vinicius Jr, but Neto is there. Incredibly, he doesn't take hold of it as he slides in! This allows Rodrygo to regain possession, and pass back to Modric from just inside the box, with Neto off his line! Nobody pressures the Croatian, it seems that they were shell-shocked in the moment. The frantic Barca defenders in front of goal are not enough, and Modric clips the ball into the goal with ease!! GOOOOOOAAAAAALLL!!!  A terrible play from the Barcelona defence! The game is set, and Real Madrid will be taking all three points home to the capital. FULL TIME: REAL MADRID 3-1 BARCELONA Real Madrid leave the Camp Nou with a well earned victory! Los Blancos were by far the better team overall, taking advantage of Barcelona’s lapses in stamina. Ronald Koeman has lots of work to do. The silver lining is the recent news of Josep Bartomeu resigning. This will be music to the ears of Blaugrana players and supporters.

After a thrilling international break, which I’m sure everyone watched and totally didn't just ignore, it’s time to get back to the domestic league.  Liverpool 2-2 Everton: THE MERSEYSIDE DERBY! Liverpool and Everton hadn’t been so tightly contested in a long time. Everton had gone ten years without winning in the derby, and this was their chance to prove how good they were. Liverpool were looking to prove that they were the kings of England, after a demolition by Aston Villa. Liverpool played really well on Saturday, most notably their upfield ball movement. Thiago was particularly good, controlling tempo as usual. Unfortunately, Virgil Van Dijk was clumsily tackled by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, injuring badly enough to have to leave. Incredibly, Pickford wasn't sent off, or even booked for that matter. Thiago was also injured after a poor tackle from Richarlison, who saw red, reducing Everton to 10 men. In front of goal, the Reds looked very convincing. The first goal came from a wonderful low cross from Andy Robertson to Sadio Mane, who finished well. Minutes later, Mohamed Salah did excellently to capitalise on a poor clearance from Yerry Mina, striking a half volley from 15 yards. Liverpool showed their spirit and almost scored in the 92nd minute, but VAR ruled it offside. However, it seemed like Mane was actually onside. Liverpool will feel like they were robbed in the 203rd Merseyside derby. Everton weren’t at their usual best today, being much slower than they had played before. They showed lots of determination to equalize right after they were scored on. Everton's midfield, most notably their new signing Abdoulaye Doucoure, had lots of drive, and also organised their formation while defending and attacking. Michael Kean did ever so well to score a header, from a good cross by (you guessed it!) James Rodriguez. Pickford had an in-and-out game, making some great stops, like the save he made to block Trent Alexander-Arnold scoring from a well taken free kick, but also put in that bad challenge against van Dijk. Dominic Calvert Lewin continued his amazing form, scoring a header from another Everton break. James looks like he has now fully fit into the Premier League, putting up another consistent game.  The Merseyside derby was full of drama and goals. The Toffees will be happy to have settled for a point, considering the odds that were against them. The Reds however, will be angry that Everton were not down to nine men, and that their last minute winner was ruled out. Spurs 3-3 West Ham Spurs looked to be in great form before this game, and a win looked likely. It is always so hard to predict what kind of West Ham team would turn out, considering their inconsistencies. However, it was clear that there would be goals, as both sides had great attacking options. Spurs got off to a great start. Within 16 minutes, they were 3-0 up, and far far away. Son scored in the first minute, a swift counter attack, and Son finished excellently by hitting it into the low corner. Kane again showed he was in form with two well taken goals. The first, the better of the two, was an incredible solo goal by Kane, nutmegging Declan Rice and a nice low shot. The second goal was a goal from a great Reguilion cross. However, Spurs just sat back in the second half, and they paid for it. West Ham pulled back three goals, to tie the game. Spurs never looked all that convincing in the second half that they would hold onto the 3-0 lead. Jose Mourinho will be furious that they gave away a great lead, considering how hard they had to work for it. West Ham started the game really poorly. They looked open for the first three goals, and didn’t have any order about them. They were dominated throughout the entire first half. In the second half, they looked much more dangerous, putting in some great crosses. They could have won the game if they had taken their chances better. Then, late on, they started a great comeback. Their first goal came from another great cross, Fabian Balbuena steering a header into the Tottenham net. The second goal was a horror show from Davidson Sanchez, who should have cleared a dangerous cross, but instead headed it into his own net. In the 94th minute, Manuel Lanzini pulled out a goal of the season contender, a ROCKET of a shot that went in off the crossbar after Spurs cleared a free kick.  Tottenham looked like their good run of form would continue after they were three goals to the good. However, it was not to be. West Ham will be ecstatic to have come from behind, and to have climbed what seemed like an insurmountable hill. Spurs will be kicking themselves that they let go of two precious points. Man United 4-1 Newcastle  Newcastle vs Man United was to be a telling story in the saga of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, because I'm sure that there weren't too many people in the United club and fanbase that still had full trust in him. Newcastle were looking to continue their good form, after a convincing 3-1 win against Burnley. Newcastle started the game very well, and within the first two minutes, they launched a confident attack. Allan Saint Maximin has been doing so well last season, and showed he is class again this season with a superb run and pass to Jonjo Shelvey, who passed it to Emil Krafth, and his shot hugly deflected off of Luke Shaw, and into the net. After their blistering start, they looked less confident going forward. Although they were well organised in defense, they looked shaky from set pieces. It came as no surprise, when nobody seemed to challenge Harry Maguire for the equalising header. A few minutes later, they conceded again to some brilliant United passing. They conceded two more goals in added time. Not very convincing. Man United put up a master class of a performance. They started slow, and should have stopped the Newcastle attack that resulted in the opening goal. Luke Shaw was unlucky to have a shot deflected off him, and past David De Gea. Halfway through the first 45 minutes, Maguire latched on to a decent cross, and equalized with a thumping header. In the 85th minute, Marcus Rashford put up a play and passed to Bruno Fernandes, which could only be described as telepathic. Fernandes finished with a plum, nesting the ball into the far top corner. Aaron Wan-Bissaka got in on the goal action with a power shot from close range, and Rashford topped the evening off with a comfortable finish after another United break. The Red Devils seem to have put the 6-1 drubbing by Tottenham behind them. Manchester United were by far the better team on the night. Whenever it seems like Solskjaer’s job is on the line, he and his team put together a good run of performances that silence the doubters. Newcastle don’t have much to take away from this game, but they did do well to keep out the red side of Manchester before injury time.

Paris Saint-Germain 0–1 Bayern München UCL Final August 23, 2020 Lisbon, Portugal The Champions League final--the European championship--took place yesterday, and boy did it live up to its hype. With both PSG and Bayern Munich having gone unbeaten in their Champions League campaign up to the final, you always knew the game would be full of quality and technique.  Bayern would go on to win the final, with a sole Kingsley Coman header at 59’ being the deciding factor. Here are three points to take from this game. 1. Where was Mbappe? Bayern have always been known to play with a high defensive line, with Alfonso Davies using his pace to run up and down the field. That being said, Jerome Boateng and David Alaba are not quite as fast, and It was expected that Kylian Mbappe would use his pace to get in behind the defence. He did on those occasions, but he never got into the groove.  Having a golden opportunity on the stroke of half time, where Alaba gave a poor pass, Mbappe miraculously fluffed his lines, with a tame shot straight into the arms of Manuel Neuer. It was a miss that cost his team dearly, as they only needed one goal to take the game to extra time. It wasn't the only chance that Mbappe had that evening, however, because in the 90th minute, Mbappe was given a pass by Neymar, through a crowd of Bayern players. From 7 yards out, he shot it right to Neuer again, just before he was deemed offside. Admittedly, it was an incredible save on Neuer’s part, but you would have bet that Mbappe would have tucked it away from that distance into the corner. 2. An Era of Greatness? Bayern came to the final as favorites, and they did not disappoint. You would find it hard to argue against Bayern being the best team in the world at the moment, and they don't seem to be stopping anytime soon. Bayern have young talent, such as Joshua Kimmich, Serge Gnabry, and of course the teenager Alfonso Davies. Hansi Flick has done an incredible job in his first year as manager, by winning the treble: the Bundesliga championship, the DFB Pokal, and now the Champions League.  You would expect Bayern never to let go of Davies, or to make his transfer price very high. Fullbacks such as Davies are hard to find, and when a club has a young fullback, they are usually reluctant to sell them. He is definitely one of the fastest players on the planet, and he will only improve as time goes on. In the final, he showed a sense of maturity with the way that he played, making good tackles and choices. He stayed cool, even when he received a yellow card relatively early in the game. There is the slight issue of Robert Lewendawski’s age, as he is 32 now. However, he is in the form of his career and no doubt has a few years at the top level still.  If Bayern are able to keep their star players and continue to compete for the champions league like they have done this year, no doubt you could be looking at a football dynasty. 3. What next for PSG? Having come so close to the pinnacle of football, PSG have failed to win the Champions league yet again. Yes, this time they have made it to the final, but you get the sense that this was a disappointment for the Parisians. They didn't seem to have the flair and intensity that brought them to the final. Ander Herrera was PSG’s best player, dictating the tempo and getting some incredible passes, most notably the pass to Angel Di Maria for a shot on goal. The amount of oil money that the Qataris have invested into the club (as I'm sure they aren't investing in them just to win Ligue 1 every year) is a disappointment. It may be the best chance that PSG have in a long time, of winning it. With the pandemic, UEFA have ruled out the second-legs from the knockout stage. PSG have capitalised on that, easily going through the knockout phase into the final. With UEFA making plans to return to normal, you would think that this has been their best opportunity of winning it in recent memory.  I'm not saying that PSG are not going to be back, challenging for the Champions League. They very well may. All I'm saying is that if they want to be back next year, and the year after that, they need to convince the players to stay. That may be hard to do, however, as players may get the sense that “The grass is greener on the other side,” and may want to find other challenges elsewhere. Only time will tell.