The stories everyone is talking about, and what each one changes for the next match.
Ilkay Gündoğan has played 11 minutes for Galatasaray this season, in two of the eight games he was available for. Asked after the 3-1 win over Kasımpaşa whether he was ready for Barcelona, his old club, he answered: “I'm not playing, so why would I be ready?”
Our take January decides this, not Tuesday
Four days after Lionel Messi said goodbye to Argentina in front of a full Monumental, the stadium sang against the man who runs Argentine football. La Nación reports that the AFA has already decided the national team will not play at River Plate's ground again, a decision neither the federation nor the club has confirmed.
Our take A power fight, not a drone failure
Moise Kean played 90 minutes for Italy in Paris with an injury, Cesc Fàbregas says, and a scan on Friday showed it. Como's coach used his press conference before Sunday's game with Roma to say the federation should talk to clubs better; within hours Italy's team doctor answered that clubs are kept updated “before, during and after” every camp.
Our take Roma lose more than Como
“My guys fell three stories”, Gence coach Martin Knezevic wrote after his team lost 92-63 in Istanbul, blaming a hotel lift for five injured players. On Saturday his own club said no player was hurt, four of the five had played, and the next time he does something like this his contract will be terminated.
Our take The warning only delays the exit
In his first half-season at Monaco, Mika Biereth scored 13 Ligue 1 goals and chased a club record. On Saturday, for the second league game in a row, he was not even in the squad as Monaco drew 2-2 with Toulouse.
Our take A January loan suits everyone
Bryan Zaragoza went past two defenders and scored after 13 minutes at La Rosaleda, in the city where he was born, and the stands turned on him. Málaga saved a 1-1 draw in stoppage time, Marca reported chants of “Bryan, muérete” (Bryan, die), and the Espanyol winger answered, according to AS: “Nunca me han querido” (they have never loved me).
Our take This was about the summer, not the celebration
Lorenzo Musetti did not face a single break point against Zhou Yi in Shanghai on Friday, won ten more points than him and still lost 7-6, 3-6, 7-6. It was his first match since the US Open after a broken finger, and the man who beat him is a 21-year-old Chinese wildcard ranked 277th in the world.
Our take Musetti's 2026 opponent is his body
Loïs Openda scored 21 Ligue 1 goals for Lens in 2022-23, and on Friday night he left their stadium on crutches. Around the hour mark, after a heavy challenge from Ismaëlo Ganiou, the Lyon striker could not get up and was helped off by the medical staff, in tears according to Tuttosport, as Lyon lost 2-1 for their first league defeat of the season.
Our take If it is long, Juventus lose most
Boca Juniors kept Leandro Paredes on the bench in Córdoba on Friday to save him for Vasco da Gama. He came on in the 55th minute, went off 16 minutes later holding the back of his right thigh, and coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena said he expects his captain to miss Tuesday's Copa Sudamericana semi-final.
Our take The real loss is in Rio, not Tuesday
Last November, Mathias Lessort's ankle was operated on by a surgeon who works exclusively with Olympiacos in Greece, and it took the Olympiacos owner's personal approval to make it happen. Olympiacos made that public on Thursday, hours after receiving a fourth complaint in a few days from Panathinaikos, one of which asks for two points to be taken off them.
Our take Olympiacos have more to lose tonight
Julián Álvarez has played 83 minutes of LaLiga football this season, all off the bench, and on Thursday the journalist Rubén Uría reported that he has ended his relationship with Fernando Hidalgo, the agent Atlético blamed for his summer push towards Barcelona. According to Uría, the Argentine "prescinde de los servicios de Hidalgo y pronto tendrá nuevo agente" (is dispensing with Hidalgo's services and will soon have a new agent).
Our take A new agent means a new exit plan
Rafael Nadal lost two Shanghai finals, David Ferrer and Roberto Bautista Agut one each, and no Spaniard has ever lifted the trophy. Carlos Alcaraz starts his campaign on Saturday against Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, and this time Jannik Sinner, the 2024 champion, is not in the draw.
Our take Spain's best Shanghai chance in 17 years
"Nobody knew, but we lived it": José Mourinho has brought the Negreira case into the build-up to his first Clásico since returning to Real Madrid, 16 days before the game at Camp Nou. He told Corriere dello Sport that he coached Madrid during "the important times of Negreira", the years in which Barcelona paid the company of the former vice-president of Spain's referees' committee.
Our take Mourinho is already playing the Clásico
Coco Gauff withdrew from the Wuhan Open on Wednesday, hours after losing to Elise Mertens in Beijing, saying her body needs rest after a long year. She won Wuhan last year, so she loses those 1,000 ranking points, but she has already qualified for the WTA Finals.
Our take Losing 1,000 points is the smart choice
Turkey's football federation has decided to part with Vincenzo Montella, Milliyet reported on Wednesday, after four Nations League defeats in a row. Shakhtar Donetsk coach Arda Turan is the favourite to replace him, and according to journalist Yakup Çınar the federation would let him keep his Shakhtar job.
Our take Shakhtar should say no to a part-time coach
Victor Osimhen took part in Galatasaray training on Wednesday for the first time since injuring his adductor on 4 September, the club doctor said. Galatasaray play Kasımpaşa on Friday and host Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Our take Osimhen plays against Barcelona, at least from the bench
Luis de la Fuente promised that no Spain player would play more than 270 minutes in this international window, and Lamine Yamal went back to Barcelona with 281, not counting stoppage time. He was the only player to start all four games, and Barcelona play Getafe on Saturday.
Our take He starts Saturday, rests in Istanbul
Thibaut Courtois has faced 37 shots on target in Real Madrid's first eight games of the season, according to a count by AS, the most in any start since he joined the club in 2018. Real Madrid host Villarreal on Saturday with the busiest goalkeeper they have had in years.
Our take Madrid's problem is 4.6, not Mbappé
Alejandro Hernández Hernández will referee the first Clásico of the season, Barcelona v Real Madrid at Camp Nou on Sunday 25 October, according to Roberto Gómez on Radio Marca. The appointment is not official yet, but if it holds it will be his seventh Clásico, and his record in them already splits the two fan bases.
Our take The whistle won't decide this Clásico
Jannik Sinner has ended his season with a knee problem but still sits second in the Race to Turin, so his place at the ATP Finals passes to the next man in line. On this week’s Race, that is Novak Djokovic: ninth on 2,840 points, 150 ahead of Alex de Minaur, who retired injured in Tuesday’s Beijing final.
Our take Sinner's knee helps Djokovic most
Raphinha trained alone again on Tuesday, and according to Mundo Deportivo, Hansi Flick’s staff are weighing whether to leave him out of the starting XI against Getafe on Saturday. The Brazilian has scored 12 of Barcelona’s 31 LaLiga goals this season, more than anyone in the league.
Our take Barcelona win, but the 31 goals get tested
Lionel Messi played his 208th and last game for Argentina on Tuesday night and had a hand in every goal of a 3-0 win over Benin at the Monumental in Buenos Aires. He set up Nicolás Otamendi and Nico Paz, then scored a penalty in the 71st minute for his 126th international goal.
Our take Argentina lose the player who did it alone
Getafe president Ángel Torres told DAZN on Tuesday that Dani Carvajal has passed his medical and that the only thing still missing is an agreement with LaLiga. The former Real Madrid captain, a free agent since 30 June, would join a Getafe side about to start its Conference League campaign.
Our take A leader for Europe, not a 40-game right-back
Erling Haaland was taken off after 67 minutes of Norway’s 2:1 defeat in Porto, limping and signalling to the bench. Norway’s coach says it was a planned change; there is no medical update yet, and Manchester City play at Anfield on Sunday.
Our take Believe the minutes, wait for the scan