Daily Archives: October 27, 2024

Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 4 – Mbappe’s Clasico to forget as Flick’s team stun European champions

Barcelona demolished Real Madrid at the Bernabeu to take a six-point lead in La Liga. Hansi Flick’s side were rampant at the home of their fierce rivals, frustrating Kylian Mbappe with their well-organised offside trap in the first half and then striking four times after the break. Robert Lewandowski scored in the 54th and 56th minutes, his 13th and 14th goals in La Liga this season, to put Barcelona in control. Then Lamine Yamal scored his first Clasico goal in the 77th minute before the in-form Raphinha added a fourth with six minutes left to play. The result takes Barcelona to 30 points at the top of the table, six clear of Madrid. Here, our writers analyse the key talking points. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
NY Times/The Athletic: The three passes that can unlock El Clasico and the two Barcelona players who can make them
NY Times/The Athletic: So… Barcelona are good again?

Does height matter in football? Yes, but not in the way you might think

“Conventional wisdom has it that being tall is advantageous. The problem with conventional wisdom is that it’s often wrong. There are studies that correlate height with happiness and higher salaries, admittedly at the cost of shorter lifespans. In certain sports, elite athletes are almost exclusively big, such as basketball, rowing (except the cox) and volleyball (except the libero). Successful Olympic swimmers have become bigger and heavier in recent decades. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Jhon Duran reminds Aston Villa he can be an ‘awesome’ starting option

“Jhon Duran. Villa Park. Champions League nights. It is a combination that has provided nothing but unbridled joy to Aston Villa so far. That dramatic winner from the bench against Bayern Munich set the tonebut Duran took the opportunity to show his quality from the first whistle against Bologna after being named in the starting XI for only the second time in all competitions this season. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

Barcelona 4 Bayern Munich 1: Raphinha hat-trick gives Hansi Flick a triumphant night against his former club

“It was Robert Lewandowski against Harry Kane. It was Hansi Flick taking on his former side. It was Barcelona against Bayern Munich, two of the continent’s most decorated clubs going head-to-head in a gripping, frantic clash in the Champions League. Barcelona were ahead inside the opening minute, Raphinha taking advantage of Bayern’s muddled defensive line to round Manuel Neuer and score. Then it was the turn of the big-name strikers to make their mark. Harry Kane headed past Inaki Pena but was judged, semi-automatically, to be offside. …”
NY Times/The Athletic

RB Leipzig 0 Liverpool 1: Rampaging Nunez, Liverpool go three from three and Leipzig stutter

Darwin Nunez’s poacher’s finish fired Liverpool to victory at RB Leipzigand maintained their flawless start to life in this season’s Champions League. Arne Slot’s side made it three wins from three in the competition with a 1-0 win in Germany, with former Leipzig players Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai tasting victory against their old team thanks to Nunez’s first-half goal. …”
NY Times/The Athletic