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.
A pair of former Pachuca teammates are having themselves a ball in the Netherlands right now.
Chucky Lozano had a breakout season with PSV Eindhoven a year ago, scoring 17 goals in the Eredivisie. He welcomed compatriot Érick Gutiérrez to the team in August and now the two El Tri players are becoming terrifyingly prolific.
Against FC Emmen on Saturday, the Chucky and Guti were at it again, scoring back-to-back goals for the third time this season.
Despite only being appointed manager of AS Monaco on Saturday, Thierry Henry has had to approach his first head coaching job like one of his trademark goals from the left wing: with remarkable speed. The traditional Ligue 1 power sits in 18th place after nine matches, and Saturday’s trip to Strasbourg represents a massive opportunity to begin the climb out of the relegation places.
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.
Last night in Dublin, Wales defeated the Republic of Ireland 1-0 thanks to Harry Wilson’s stunning free kick in the 58th minute. The win put the Dragons at the top of UEFA Nations League B Group 4, and a victory over Denmark in Cardiff on Nov. 16 would see the nation promoted to League A — an achievement that would make Ryan Giggs’ early tenure as boss a resounding success.