The first leg of the UEFA Champions League did not disappoint. Four of the matches were quite predictable with Liverpool, Bayern, Man City and Dortmund beating Leipzig, Lazio, Gladbach and Sevilla respectively. The other four matches on the other hand, were a bit more split between the two sides. The most shocking of these four was perhaps, Porto beating Juventus. But the biggest disappointment was certainly Barcelona losing to PSG 4-1, despite Neymar’s injury.
The two best players were certainly Haaland and Mbappe, who have now got a friendly rivalry going that many fans are comparing to Messi and Ronaldo’s (but a on smaller scale). Haaland led one assist and two goals against Sevilla and Mbappe with 3 goals against Messi’s Barcelona. The two youngsters are also open for the transfer market this summer with strong speculations of both players heading towards Spain. If either of the players end up in the La Liga, it could certainly heat things up for the Spanish League.
In the disappointing match between PSG and Barca, Messi managed to score an amazing penalty in the 27th minute to get Barcelona an early start, but unfortunately his efforts were completely wasted due to Barcelona’s fragmented defense. Five minutes after Messi’s penalty, Mbappe scored an equalizer goal and it was all PSG after that. In addition to Mbappe’s hattrick, Kean also scored a goal in at the far post. The match was incredibly disappointing for Barca fans because it was at Camp Nou and PSG was missing one of their key players.
Chelsea beat Madrid in a slightly surprising match thanks to Giroud’s constant efforts. His unexpected bicycle kick was the talk of the game and certainly pleased all Chelsea fans. Atletico could certainly turn things around in the next leg if Suarez and Felix manage to play in their top forms, but currently Chelsea’s game seems top tier this season.
Elsewhere, Man United’s young celeb, Marcus Rashford, was named one of the 100 next most influential people according to Times magazine. He was nominated by F1 superstar, Lewis Hamilton, due to his active and engaging life outside of soccer. Rashford united the UK over the summer and led a campaign against child hunger. He highlighted awareness and lead a free-school meals campaign for kids. He also spoke up against racism and the BLM movement. Overall, his future seems bright and respect-worthy on and off the field.
Images may be subject to copyright. Credits:
Image 1: Twitter
Image 2: Forbes
Image 3: CBS Sports
Image 4: Time
