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The primary matchday of the is finished and it didn’t disappoint as we had just one stalemate throughout 18 matches. From within the competitors to and , listed here are three of the most important speaking factors from the opening week of UEFA’s greatest membership competitors.

As Newcastle remembered previous glory, Rashford and Barcelona rewrite the current

Virtually 28 years in the past to the day, Newcastle United — in its first ever Champions League fixture — performed Barcelona at St. James’ Park and due to a magical hat-trick by Colombian star Faustino Asprilla, the Toon Military gained 3-2 in opposition to Louis van Gaal’s aspect, which included the likes of Luis Enrique, Luis Figo and Rivaldo. Asprilla’s inspiring antics made it one of the crucial historic nights in Newcastle United historical past as Tyneside has by no means forgotten what was achieved that night.

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On Thursday evening, Asprilla was in attendance as recollections of that joyous recreation hovered because the stadium’s noise, as typical, was deafening, hoping Eddie Howe’s males would emulate the magic created practically three many years in the past, able to face Hansi Flick’s aspect who didn’t have Lamine Yamal as a result of a nagging groin harm, which was worsened in the course of the worldwide break. A state of affairs that has been criticized by Flick.

However in opposition to Newcastle, Yamal was not wanted and Flick didn’t want to fret as Barcelona earned its redemption from 1997, and sarcastically sufficient, the victory was due to an English northerner as Marcus Rashford — on mortgage from Manchester United — performed his greatest recreation for the Blaugrana since arriving final month.

Rashford scored two nice, second-half targets in an entertaining 2-1 win. The primary got here within the 58th minute because the English attacker scored an incredible header, beating Nick Pope while the second arrived 9 minutes later, and it was a factor of magnificence. After a missed clearance from Newcastle, Rashford recovered the ball contained in the opponent’s half, simply disposed of Sandro Tonali and took a thunderous end exterior of the field within the 67th minute. That one positively gave the Newcastle goalkeeper zero likelihood of holding it out of his personal objective.

Rashford got here off within the 82nd minute, profitable man of the match as Barcelona aimed to seal its first three factors of the competitors. Newcastle United, nevertheless, is something however defeatist — particularly in entrance of its personal followers — and due to an Anthony Gordon objective within the ninetieth minute, the stadium got here again to life. The hosts pushed for a dramatic equalizer however ultimately, Barcelona’s possession recreation and defensive form did sufficient to take care of the win.

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Barcelona is excessive in my as I defined that this group has proven it’s clearly extra than simply Yamal. Thursday, it proved my level as Barça followers, with the 3-2 loss from 1997 nonetheless on their minds, depart Tyneside and head again house with a model new reminiscence.

Harry Kane couldn’t be contained in Bayern’s win over Chelsea on Wednesday.

(DeFodi Photographs by way of Getty Photographs)Proper now, there is not any one higher than Harry Kane

For Bayern Munich to win in opposition to Chelsea was not a shock. In spite of everything, the German giants are at present taking part in with absolute, mesmerizing goalscoring fluidity and on Wednesday evening, Vincent Kompany confirmed all of the weapons at his disposal, together with Michael Olise, who was magnificent.

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However that is all about Harry Kane, who scored a brace in a 3-1 win over the Premier League aspect and stored inflicting havoc all through the night. His first objective was a sometimes well-taken penalty and his second, a fantastically positioned end after Bayern’s press inside Chelsea’s half. However, his targets aren’t even why he is in one other world proper now. He has 11 this season, if you embrace all competitions as effectively his objective for England in opposition to Serbia on this month’s worldwide window.

It’s not simply the goalscoring that makes him so magnificent, however fairly the way in which he sees the sport and his capacity to create and transfer across the pitch. Kane has all the time been a cellular striker, somebody who likes to invent conditions for himself and his teammates however with Bayern, particularly with the absence of Jamal Musiala, it’s much more spectacular as a result of the English striker now consistently drops deeper when he feels it’s obligatory and subsequently invitations different attackers to hitch the occasion. New arrival Luis Díaz, Serge Gnabry or the aforementioned Olise love that type of invitation and because of this, Bayern Munich grow to be extra harmful. And if you add the truth that Kane can even rating from virtually wherever, the opposition runs out of options to cease him.

Kane is at present taking part in the most effective soccer of his profession and a large membership like Bayern Munich, amazingly, has made him much more harmful. Other than maybe Mbappé, there isn’t a participant within the recreation proper now, at this very second, that’s taking part in to his degree as a result of it’s not simply in regards to the targets, in any other case, I’d be throwing Erling Haaland within the dialog.

That is in regards to the full recreation of Harry Kane … and presently, there isn’t a much bigger title.

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I do know you all assume the identical.

Xabi Alonso’s Actual Madrid is clicking with Kylian Mbappé offering the spark.

(Mateo Villalba Sanchez by way of Getty Photographs)Actual Madrid’s toughness — and carelessness — stand out

On Wednesday evening at Santiago Bernabéu stadium, Actual Madrid got here out with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Marseilles. There have been many storylines that got here to the floor together with some great saves from each Thibaut Courtois and Gerónimo Rulli, who prevented Actual Madrid’s alternatives ten instances within the first half. There have been a few penalties from Kylian Mbappé, who additionally recorded an astonishing 50 targets in 64 appearances for Los Blancos.

“I do what the boss asks me to do,” mentioned Mbappé to Movistar after the sport, stressing how Xabi Alonso’s new regime calls for for extra high-block urgent and aggressive soccer.

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So what we noticed this week has been the same theme from Actual Madrid’s earlier video games in La Liga, which have been much less about aesthetically pleasing soccer and extra about resilience. They’ve been considerably reckless, thoughts you, most notably by two crimson playing cards within the final two matches in all competitions, together with the Marseilles win the place Dani Carvajal’s careless determination to headbutt Rulli compelled the house aspect to play with 10 males from the 72nd minute. Carvajal didn’t even begin the sport because the Spanish full again had changed Trent Alexander-Arnold after coming off injured after 5 minutes of motion.

On the time of Carvajal’s sending off, the rating was 1-1 and Madrid may have fumbled as Marseille — below Roberto de Zerbi — have been searching for the victory. Nevertheless it was Madrid who didn’t bow down and finally, due to a really harsh however precise penalty, made it 2-1. Mbappé scored it and similar to that, the Spanish aspect sang out in cheer with a gap win within the Champions League. This has now made it 5 straight wins in all competitions for the Spanish giants however what’s extra spectacular in Alonso’s first few months is that their metal-worthy stubbornness has taken middle stage above the rest. As soon as the group will get more healthy and turns into extra comfy with the Basque supervisor’s philosophy, Actual Madrid will probably be even higher. A reminder that it is a younger Madrid too. The common age for the squad is roughly 25 years outdated, which makes it the youngest Actual Madrid squad since 1998.

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Younger, cussed and able to enhance. Be careful for Madrid this season.