“Barcelona opened up their 2025-26 Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win at St James’ Park against Newcastle United. The opening 45 minutes were very much a half of two halves. Newcastle, in typical fashion, started aggressively, with the front three pressing the Barcelona defence and winning possession in some promising positions, to the delight of the home fans. The pace of Anthony Elanga, in particular, was a consistently dangerous outlet for Eddie Howe’s side, with their best chance of the half coming when he motored down the right flank and crossed for Harvey Barnes, whose shot was saved. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Newcastle 1 Barcelona 2: Is Rashford back? Should Schar have come off sooner? Are Flick’s side contenders?
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“It wasn’t pretty but Tottenham Hotspur’s return to the Champions League was a winning one. A calamitous own goal by Villarreal goalkeeper Luiz Junior in the fourth minute proved enough for Thomas Frank’s side in a low-key encounter in north London, although few Spurs fans were complaining at the relative lack of fireworks. Here, we analyse the major talking points. …”
“Harry Kane scored twice as Chelsea’s return to Europe’s top table ended in defeat despite a promising performance in Munich. The England forward scored a penalty for Bayern before adding a second in a 3-1 victory at Allianz Arena in the first match of the Champions League league phase. A Trevoh Chalobah own goal from a Michael Olise cross after a drop ball had put the home side ahead before Kane doubled the lead from the spot after being fouled. …”
“Eddie Howe said it will be ‘magical’, ‘
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