Mbappe Saves Real Madrid in Champions League, Haaland Scores Twice for Manchester City | Argentine Star Messi Returns to Ballon d'Or Nominees After Two Years

On September 9, the Champions League officially began. Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1, Manchester City defeated Porto 2-0, and Argentine star Messi was nominated for the Ballon d'Or again after two years.

[When Mbappe performs, Real Madrid is truly Real Madrid]

Real Madrid defeated Inter Milan 2-1 at home. In the match, Diaz assisted Mbappe in the 14th minute, and Augusto assisted Valverde in the 23rd minute. This was Mourinho's first Champions League match after returning as Real Madrid manager, and the team unexpectedly secured a victory. His aggressive pressing tactics at the start also contributed to the opponent's defensive mistakes.

In my opinion, Real Madrid could have increased the margin in this match. The main issue was that their finishing was not perfect enough, especially considering their attacking line features Mbappe, one of the best strikers in the world. At the same time, Real Madrid's defensive system has not yet been established. Inter Milan had 21 shots in this match, but scored only one goal. Courtois made 7 saves. The writer often says that the stability of a defensive line is most reflected by how many saves the goalkeeper has to make: the more saves required, the worse the defensive line is. It feels that Real Madrid will find it difficult to win the league title and Champions League title this season.

[Haaland Equals Aguero's Champions League Scoring Record]

The Manchester City 2-0 Porto match was the first game for head coach Maresca and also Enzo's first match representing Manchester City. It was also Enzo's first assist in his Manchester City career. Some fans called it an Enzo-Haaland connection. Manchester City's starting goalkeeper was Donnarumma, with a defense of Nunes, Ruben Dias, Guehi, and Gvardiol. The midfield included Enzo, Foden, No. 10 Cherki, and Buadi, while the forwards were Semenyo and Haaland.

[Messi Returns to Ballon d'Or Nominees After Two Years]

Argentine star Messi won the award for the first time in 2009, then dominated for four consecutive years from 2010 to 2012, won his fifth in 2015, sixth in 2019, seventh in 2021, and eighth in 2023.

According to this pattern, whenever it is a World Cup year, Messi has a 100 percent chance of winning. At 39 years old, Messi became the top scorer in World Cup history this year and led his team into the World Cup. However, Spain are the World Cup champions, and their captain Rodri has performed even more strongly. The future will be a contest between Messi and Rodri!