New Delhi: From Barcelona conceding a goal in 44 seconds in La Liga to PSG’s “worst match of the season” even as Paul Pogba returned to the field, here’s what made news from the world of European football last week:
Spanish contests
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona conceded a goal against La Liga’s bottom-half contender Deportivo Alaves in just 44 seconds, but went on to win the match at home in Camp Nou 3-1.
Pundits are keen to see the next result as Barca prepare for the coming midweek clash against Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid.
Atletico are on a good run, coming off a 7-match winning streak across all competitions and becoming the first team in La Liga to have scored first in each of their opening 14 matches of a season.
Barcelona, whose defensive flaws are visible for all to see, hope the return of midfielder Pedri and winger Raphinha – both of whom were out due to injuries – will boost confidence, especially after three big losses, two of which were in the UEFA Champions League (PSG 2-1 and Chelsea 3-0), and the remaining to Real Madrid (2-1).
For now, Barca are placed first in the league, with Real Madrid dropping points against Girona, which ended with a third consecutive draw in La Liga. But Xabi Alonso-led Los Blancos can still catch up to claim the top spot as they travel to the Basque countryside to face Athletic Bilbao while Barcelona stumble against fourth-placed Atletico Madrid.
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On the English end
Manchester United and Liverpool fans could breathe a sigh of relief. The Red Devils came back from a goal down to win 2-1 against Crystal Palace Sunday, and the Reds—starting without their star forward Mohammad Salah for the first time since April 2024—finally put an end to their losing run with a decisive 2-0 victory over West Ham United.
But the biggest Premier League clash of the week was the London derby between Arsenal and Chelsea, both teams that came from a high-point of having defeated Bayern Munich and Barcelona (respectively) in Champions League contests.
The Blues, reduced to ten men as Moises Caicedo was sent off for a challenge on Mikel Merino in the first half, started out at the front with a header from Trevoh Chalobah hitting the back of the net in the 48th minute.
But Arsenal hit back as Merino took advantage of a Bukayo Saka cross and levelled the score soon after.
Chelsea can take plenty of positives from the draw, having penetrated a solid Arsenal defence. For the Gunners, though, the result means they failed to make the most of a contest against a 10-man team and widen their Premier League lead over Manchester City.
Across the channel
In Ligue 1, Luiz Enrique’s Paris Saint Germain fell 1-0 to a lacklustre AS Monaco, with even the manager admitting it was the “worst match of the season”. The loss was particularly sour for the French defending champions, considering Monaco were down to ten men by the end of the match. Luckily, Japanese international Takumi Minamino had already put the team at the front before that.
A distant silver lining, if any, was the late-substitution of Paul Pogba, who made his first home appearance for the club and only his second game in two years after serving a ban for doping.
The result meant Monaco moved up to the sixth rank on the Ligue table, while PSG – ahead of Marseille by just two points — could lose the top spot later.
Predictable Germany
Bayern Munich continued to cruise ahead as they established an eight-point lead over second-placed RB Leipzig in Bundesliga. Vincent Kompany’s team comfortably beat FC St Pauli 3-1 after tasting their first defeat of the season against Arsenal in the Champions League last week.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)