A meeting between Inter Milan and Barcelona at the Camp Nou will always conjure images of Jose Mourinho celebrating his tactical masterclass by storming the pitch at the final whistle, but for one Inter player, Wednesday’s tilt will serve as an unlikely reminder of things past — it's Mauro Icardi’s “homecoming.”
With Real Madrid mired in a five-match winless streak and displaying historic levels of ineptitude at the attacking end, manager Julen Lopetegui is being framed as a dead man walking.
Real Madrid Castilla (the club’s reserve team) kept up its fine start to Segunda División B Group 1 play with a 1-1 away draw to Celta Vigo B on Sunday. 18-year-old Brazilian phenom Vinícius Júnior scored his fourth goal in five appearances for the team, but any hopes of being involved in next Sunday’s El Clásico at the Camp Nou were dashed when he was sent off for diving shortly after.
FC Barcelona has updated the world on the severity of the arm injury which forced Lionel Messi off in the 26th minute of the club’s 4-2 victory over Sevilla on Saturday, and it’s terrible news for fans of the beautiful game: Messi has fractured the radial bone in his right arm and will be out for three weeks.
Accordingly, Barca’s captain will miss Wednesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan and, most notably, next Sunday’s El Clásico at the Camp Nou.
Lionel Messi did what Lionel Messi does 12 minutes into Barcelona’s match against Sevilla on Saturday. Then he did something uncharacteristic for the prolific Argentine: he got hurt.
In a scary moment for Barça fans, Messi was taken off with an apparent arm injury after an awkward fall in the 16th minute, moments after he scored his 12th goal of the season. He was eventually taken off in the 26th minute, unable to continue, a rare injury for a player who has averaged more than 52 appearances per season the last 10 years.
Before the international break, the Real Madrid scoreless streak reached near unprecedented levels. Los Blancos finally scored on Saturday on their return to the Bernabeu, but it wasn’t nearly enough as Levante defeated the Madristas 2-1 in LaLiga action.
Wednesday, FC Barcelona posted a video to its official YouTube channel entitled “INSIDE TRAINING | Coutinho prepares for his first El Clásico.” It’s a little strange because perhaps the Brazilian would be better served preparing for Saturday’s match against league leader Sevilla at the Camp Nou or next Wednesday’s heavyweight Champions League tilt with Inter Milan (the clubs are even at the top of Group B with six points), but there’s just no denying that it doesn’t get any bigger or better than El Clásico.
On Tuesday, Oct. 23, Cristiano Ronaldo will return to Old Trafford for only the second time since making his 2009 then-world-record-transfer of nearly $110 million to the Santiago Bernabéu.
Ronaldo has played against Manchester United in three competitive matches over the following period — the 2012-13 Champions League Round of 16 and a brief, seven-minute cameo during the 2017 UEFA Super Cup in Macedonia.