Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning , Lars Sivertsen and Nedum Onuoha to round up the week’s Champions League action, and look ahead to the weekend’s Premier League fixtures Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts and join the conversation on email . On the podcast today: Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen, and Nedum Onuoha to round up the week’s Champions League action. Liverpool defeat Atlético Madrid and Manchester United see off Sabah to complete a perfect week for the Premier League sides in the Champions League. Elsewhere in the competition, Michael Olise stars for Bayern Munich and Cesc Fàbregas’s Como side make an impressive debut. Continue reading...

The league phase has begun. From Olise’s brilliance to Sabah’s pub cleaner turned quiz contestant turned manager, there was plenty to talk about The league phase has been previewed as Barcelona’s first step toward reclaiming a crown last lifted in 2015, with disappointments aplenty since. Lionel Messi claiming just one Champions League title in the last decade of his time at Camp Nou is the starkest statistic. The player anointed as Messi’s successor, Lamine Yamal, is already a European and world champion for Spain, so this is the next frontier. A soggy Wednesday evening at Camp Nou saw Hansi Flick’s team show their attacking chops remain of the highest quality in a 5-1 defeat of Feyenoord. The club presidential regime of Joan Laporta continues to pull levers to confound financial experts, with Gabriel Jesus, one of the summer’s arrivals, scoring his first Barca goal. Yamal got on the scoresheet via a scruffy free-kick after Raphinha had reminded there are further dimensions to that all-star attack, his first goal of his pair two sending Feyenoord defenders skidding. Continue reading...

Forward’s spurned opportunity to level the match proved decisive in the Champions League newcomers’ loss to Manchester United Football – like much of life – can be a story of what might have been, and on 39 minutes Joy-Lance Mickels had an experience that was a sliding doors moment for the centre-forward and Sabah that may haunt a long time. Azerbaijan’s champions were trailing to Matheus Cunha’s opener when Kaheem Parris spiralled the ball up to the far post of Manchester United’s goal. The lurking Mickels had a gilded chance, unmarked and close-in, yet when the delivery dropped, the 32-year-old snatched at his header and the ball fell wide. Continue reading...

Brazilian scores twice in 5-1 victory at Camp Nou Torres scores hat-trick as PSG thump Slovan Bratislava Raphinha let his goals do the talking after being omitted from the Ballon d’Or shortlist, striking twice as Barcelona eased to a 5-1 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League. The Brazilian was a surprise omission from this week’s 30-strong list of candidates for the prestigious award but brushed any disappointment aside to continue his early season hot streak at a rain-soaked Camp Nou. The forward finished brilliantly in the third minute and added a second just before the hour mark to down the Eredivisie side and take his tally to eight goals in six outings at the start of the campaign. Continue reading...