The first matchday of the Champions League is done and it did not disappoint as we had only one stalemate across 18 matches. From the golden arrival of Marcus Rashford as a Barcelona player in the competition to Harry Kane’s dominance for Bayern Munich and Real Madrid’s resilience with Kylian Mbappé, here are three of the biggest talking points from the opening week of UEFA’s biggest club competition.
As Newcastle remembered past glory, Rashford and Barcelona rewrite the present
Almost 28 years ago to the day, Newcastle United — in its first ever Champions League fixture — played Barcelona at St. James’ Park and thanks to a magical hat-trick by Colombian star Faustino Asprilla, the Toon Army won 3-2 against Louis van Gaal’s side, which included the likes of Luis Enrique, Luis Figo and Rivaldo. Asprilla’s inspiring antics made it one of the most historic nights in Newcastle United history as Tyneside has never forgotten what was achieved that evening.
Advertisement
On Thursday night, Asprilla was in attendance as memories of that joyous game hovered as the stadium’s noise, as usual, was deafening, hoping Eddie Howe’s men would emulate the magic created nearly three decades ago, ready to face Hansi Flick’s side who did not have Lamine Yamal due to a nagging groin injury, which was worsened during the international break. A situation that has been criticized by Flick.
But against Newcastle, Yamal was not needed and Flick did not need to worry as Barcelona earned its redemption from 1997, and ironically enough, the victory was thanks to an English northerner as Marcus Rashford — on loan from Manchester United — played his best game for the Blaugrana since arriving last month.
Rashford scored two great, second-half goals in an entertaining 2-1 win. The first came in the 58th minute as the English attacker scored a great header, beating Nick Pope whilst the second arrived nine minutes later, and it was a thing of beauty. After a missed clearance from Newcastle, Rashford recovered the ball inside the opponent’s half, easily disposed of Sandro Tonali and took a thunderous finish outside of the box in the 67th minute. That one definitely gave the Newcastle goalkeeper zero chance of keeping it out of his own goal.
Rashford came off in the 82nd minute, winning man of the match as Barcelona aimed to seal its first three points of the competition. Newcastle United, however, is anything but defeatist — especially in front of its own fans — and thanks to an Anthony Gordon goal in the 90th minute, the stadium came back to life. The hosts pushed for a dramatic equalizer but in the end, Barcelona’s possession game and defensive shape did enough to maintain the win.
Advertisement
Barcelona is high in my Champions League power rankings as I explained that this team has shown it is obviously more than just Yamal. Thursday, it proved my point as Barça fans, with the 3-2 loss from 1997 still on their minds, leave Tyneside and head back home with a brand new memory.
Harry Kane could not be contained in Bayern’s win over Chelsea on Wednesday.
(DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Right now, there’s no one better than Harry Kane
For Bayern Munich to win against Chelsea was not a surprise. After all, the German giants are currently playing with absolute, mesmerizing goalscoring fluidity and on Wednesday night, Vincent Kompany showed all the weapons at his disposal, including Michael Olise, who was magnificent.
Advertisement
But this is all about Harry Kane, who scored a brace in a 3-1 win over the Premier League side and kept causing havoc throughout the evening. His first goal was a typically well-taken penalty and his second, a beautifully placed finish after Bayern’s press inside Chelsea’s half. But, his goals are not even why he’s in another world right now. He has 11 this season, when you include all competitions as well his goal for England against Serbia in this month’s international window.
It’s not just the goalscoring that makes him so magnificent, but rather the way he sees the game and his ability to create and move around the pitch. Kane has always been a mobile striker, someone who likes to invent situations for himself and his teammates but with Bayern, especially with the absence of Jamal Musiala, it’s even more impressive because the English striker now constantly drops deeper when he feels it’s necessary and therefore invites other attackers to join the party. New arrival Luis Díaz, Serge Gnabry or the aforementioned Olise love that kind of invitation and as a result, Bayern Munich become more dangerous. And when you add the fact that Kane can also score from practically anywhere, the opposition runs out of solutions to stop him.
Kane is currently playing the best football of his career and a giant club like Bayern Munich, amazingly, has made him even more dangerous. Aside from perhaps Mbappé, there isn’t a player in the game right now, at this very moment, that is playing to his level because it’s not just about the goals, otherwise, I’d be throwing Erling Haaland in the conversation.
This is about the complete game of Harry Kane … and presently, there isn’t a bigger name.
Advertisement
I know you all think the same.
Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid is clicking with Kylian Mbappé providing the spark.
(Maneo Villalba Sanchez via gettty images)
Real Madrid’s toughness — and carelessness — stand out
On Wednesday night at Santiago Bernabéu stadium, Real Madrid came out with a dramatic 2-1 victory over Marseilles. There were many storylines that came to the surface including some wonderful saves from both Thibaut Courtois and Gerónimo Rulli, who prevented Real Madrid’s opportunities ten times in the first half. There were a couple of penalties from Kylian Mbappé, who also recorded an astonishing 50 goals in 64 appearances for The whites.
“I do what the boss asks me to do,” said Mbappé to Movistar after the game, stressing how Xabi Alonso’s new regime demands for more high-block pressing and aggressive football.
Advertisement
So what we saw this week has been a similar theme from Real Madrid’s previous games in La Liga, which have been less about aesthetically pleasing football and more about resilience. They have been somewhat reckless, mind you, most notably by two red cards in the last two matches in all competitions, including the Marseilles win where Dani Carvajal’s careless decision to headbutt Rulli forced the home side to play with 10 men from the 72nd minute. Carvajal didn’t even start the game as the Spanish full back had replaced Trent Alexander-Arnold after coming off injured after five minutes of action.
At the time of Carvajal’s sending off, the score was 1-1 and Madrid could have fumbled as Marseille — under Roberto de Zerbi — were looking for the victory. But it was Madrid who did not bow down and eventually, thanks to a very harsh but actual penalty, made it 2-1. Mbappé scored it and just like that, the Spanish side sang out in cheer with an opening win in the Champions League. This has now made it five straight wins in all competitions for the Spanish giants but what’s more impressive in Alonso’s first few months is that their metal-worthy stubbornness has taken center stage above anything else. Once the team gets healthier and becomes more comfortable with the Basque manager’s philosophy, Real Madrid will be even better. A reminder that this is a young Madrid too. The average age for the squad is approximately 25 years old, which makes it the youngest Real Madrid squad since 1998.
Young, stubborn and ready to improve. Watch out for Madrid this season.
