Everything we have written about Barcelona, newest first.
Lamine Yamal equalised for Barcelona with a left-footed shot from a tight angle on 79 minutes in Paris, and by the 86th they were 4-2 down: Vitinha scored on 81, Fabián Ruiz on 86. Afterwards Hansi Flick admitted that Sunday's Clásico against Real Madrid shaped his line-up, with Rodri on the bench and Marc Bernal in his place.
Our take Rodri was not what Barcelona missed in Paris
Manuel Pellegrini left La Cartuja on Saturday night saying Lamine Yamal had provoked the red card that decided Betis's 5-2 defeat by Barcelona. About two hours later the player sent off, Facundo Bernal, apologised on social media and took the blame himself: "No suelo reaccionar así y debí controlarme en esa jugada" (I don't usually react like that and I should have controlled myself).
Our take Barça would have won this 11 v 11
Ousmane Dembélé sent his 72nd-minute penalty wide of the left post at Strasbourg on Saturday, the third spot-kick Paris Saint-Germain have missed in eight days. Foot Mercato counts nine misses in PSG's last 19 penalties, our own count from ESPN's match logs agrees, and Luis Enrique admitted afterwards: "C'est vrai qu'on n'a pas de spécialiste" (it's true we don't have a specialist).
Our take PSG need one name, not nine
Manuel Pellegrini has Betis third in LaLiga with 19 points, and in Chile the calls for him to take the national team are getting louder. On Friday, the day before unbeaten Barcelona visit La Cartuja, he asked for interim coach Nicolás Córdova to be left to work, while former Ecuador coach Sebastián Beccacece told Radio Agricultura: "Ojalá que Manuel Pellegrini pueda venir."
Our take Chile can wait. Betis can't
The man who looked after Lionel Messi's body at Barcelona has a simple rule for Lamine Yamal: never ask him. "It is the coaches' mistake, asking whether to change a player, because a player will never want to come off," Juanjo Brau told Cadena SER's El Larguero on Thursday night, after Hansi Flick admitted Lamine did not want to be substituted.
Our take Barça's issue is who decides, not fatigue
Betis have 19 points from their first eight LaLiga games, the same six wins, one draw and one defeat they had in 1934-35, the only season they won the league. Minutes after Sunday's 5-2 win over Osasuna sealed it, Antony sat down on the pitch, and Manuel Pellegrini said he had felt a muscle.
Our take A real start, a week that decides it
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
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
"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
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
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
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