Hey! A busy weekend offered plenty of talking points ahead of an equally entertaining week as Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League approaches. I am Pardeep Cattry with the latest.
📺 Footy solution
Always American/Oriental
Monday, September 30th
🇬🇧 Series A: Parma vs. Cagliari, 14.45 ➡️ Most important+
🏴 EPL: Bournemouth vs Southampton, 3 pm ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Villareal vs. Las Palmas, 15:00 ➡️ ESPN+
Tuesday, October 1st
🇪🇺 UCL: Salzburg vs. Brest, 12:45 ➡️ Most important+
🏴 EFL Cup: Newcastle v Wimbledon, 2.45pm ➡️ Most important+
🏴 Championship: Norwich v Leeds, 2:45 pm ➡️ Most important+
🇪🇺 UCL: Arsenal vs Paris Saint-Germain, 15:00 ➡️ Most important+
🌎 Concacaf W Champions Cup: Portland Thorns vs. Santa Fe, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
⚽ The Front Line
🇪🇸 Madrid derby descends in chaos
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Atletico Madrid’s late equalizer against Real Madrid was overshadowed by crowd trouble at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, which forced the referee to suspend play for around 15 minutes shortly after Real Madrid scored the first goal of the game.
Eder Militao scored Real Madrid’s only goal of a 1-1 game in the 64th minute, which then prompted goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois – a former Atletico player – to celebrate by turning to the fans behind him. A section of Atletico fans reacted by throwing objects at Courtois, including lighters and plastic bags with items inside them, which then prompted referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer to stop play in the 69th minute. As the players and staff went into the changing rooms, Atletico players Koke and Jose Maria Gimenez and manager Diego Simeone went to the disruptive fans, begging them to stop. Simeone denounced the behavior in his post-match remarks, according to The Guardian.
- Simeone: “The message to them was: think about the club, the team, your team. You don’t help your team. What they said was that it wasn’t their fault that he provoked them. That doesn’t justify it but I say we also must punish those who provoke. We don’t need people who support us, who think about the club and the lighter. Come on. It happened to Courtois at the Bernabéu, when he played for us, it will happen again.”
Atletico and La Liga also condemned the disruptive action and the club said on Monday it had permanently banned one fan, via ESPN.
The behavior has been attributed to a radical, far-right group of Atletico ultras who have also been held responsible for racist acts against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams in recent years. Four members of the group were charged by local prosecutors in December 2023 for hanging an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge earlier that year.
A lot of the predicted disorderly behavior will take place at the Metropolitan Stadium on Sunday – a group of Atletico fans started a pre-game campaign to wear masks to avoid being caught breaking the rules, which La Liga denounced before kick-off. Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was also reportedly discouraged from attending the game while recovering from a minor injury to avoid potential chaos.
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🔗 Midfield League Game
🇪🇺 Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain headline UCL action
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The UEFA Champions League returns to its week with another round of highly anticipated fixtures for Day 2, most notably Paris Saint-Germain’s trip to Arsenal on Tuesday.
Arsenal are the oddsmakers’ favorites to win this one, which feels like a battle between two sides at very different stages of the project. Mikel Arteta is approaching his five-year anniversary as Gunners manager and has built a well-oiled defensive machine, so they remain third favorites for the title, even if they rank well behind main challengers Manchester City and Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, are just weeks into their youth-focused rebuild following the summer departure of Kylian Mbappe. The stakes for both sides, however, are not so linear.
Although it is far too early for anyone to panic, Arsenal are chasing their first win of the European season on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw at Atalanta two weeks earlier. Goalkeeper David Raya was the standout after saving a penalty and the subsequent rebound, but recent weeks have been more about stop-start offense for the Gunners. The Gunners are about to play their sixth match without captain Martin Odegaard and have been inconsistent without him. Although they took 35 shots and scored four goals against Leicester City on Saturday, they have not posted more than five shots in any Premier League or Champions League game since Odegaard suffered his injury, well below the 17 shots they averaged en route to second . place finish in England’s top flight last season.
It makes for a strange matchup against Luis Enrique’s PSG, who are fairly untested so far this season. Things are so far so good in Ligue 1, where they are unbeaten and have outscored the opposition 20 to five in six games. Their 1-0 win over Girona on Day 1, however, forces some questions about their final product as they did little with their 26 shots and benefited from a 90th-minute own goal. It is unclear how they will match up against Arsenal, who have built perhaps Europe’s best defence, and especially as they will be without Ousmane Dembele in North London. He has four goals and three assists this season but will not be able to add to his tally on Tuesday, a move believed to be Enrique’s decision.
🔗 Top Stories
🇨🇦 Sinclair retirement: Christine Sinclair, international soccer’s all-time leading scorer and Olympic gold medalist with Canada, will retire at the end of the NWSL season.
🇫🇷 Griezmann’s French farewell: World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann has retired from the international game after 137 appearances and 44 goals for France.
🏴 Shipping from England: Arsenal and Liverpool were given a boost in the title race after Manchester City dropped points, Cole Palmer impressed with four goals for Chelsea and Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is officially on the hot seat (again).
🇩🇪 All squares in Germany: Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, offering a preview of sorts for Day 2 of the Champions League.
🇺🇸 NWSL power rankings: The Washington Spirit continues to climb in the latest edition of the NWSL power rankings, while Angel City slips.
🔴🔵 Barcelona drop points: Barcelona lost 4-2 against Osasuna on Saturday, ending their La Liga winning streak as they prioritize a Champions League clash against Young Boys this week.
🏆 MLS MVP check-in: Portland Timbers and FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta are serious contenders for the MLS MVP award, while Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi is lower on the list after an injury-plagued season.
🏟️ Club World Cup Venues: FIFA has selected 12 stadiums, mostly on the east coast of the United States, as venues for the 2025 Club World Cup, while MetLife Stadium will host the final a year before serving as the site of the 2026 World Cup final.
🌴 Messi scores again: Lionel Messi scored his latest goal for Inter Miami in style, taking a shot from distance in Inter Miami’s draw with Charlotte FC.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bets
- UEFA Champions League: Arsenal v Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday 15th
💰 THE PICK: Arsenal to win 1-0 (+700) – Paris Saint-Germain will arrive at the Emirates Stadium with plenty of promise on Tuesday, but they are a young team at the start of a new project while Arsenal are much closer to the finished product. The visitors may have enough in them to keep the scoreline close, especially as Arsenal are coping without Martin Odegaard, but expect the hosts to grab their first win of the competition by overwhelming the opposition. - UEFA Champions League: Bayer Leverkusen vs AC Milan, Tuesday 15th
💰 THE PICK: Christian Pulisic to win (+370) – Bayer Leverkusen might be the favorites in this clash, but that’s no reason to completely count AC Milan out. They have won in each of their games this season, even as they started their campaign with just one win in their opening five matches. Christian Pulisic has been the team’s bright spot so far with five goals in seven games, so betting on the US men’s national team star during his hot streak feels like an easy bet to make regardless of the final result.
For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss the CBSSports.com betting homepage.
📺 What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans start their day on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest football storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast formso you’ll never have to miss an episode.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The leading women soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women’s game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will break down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long. And don’t miss out Wednesdays live streams on YouTube at 11 a.m. ET.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): Weekly podcast with Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and friends cover everything USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States. You can also watch the show live on YouTube every Monday at 11am ET.
🥅 score line (Every day): Scoreline is the latest place for fans to get all the biggest news and results affecting global football, matches from the top football competitions and all the unmissable goals of the day’s action, starting on Thursday and broadcasting seven days. a week
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all major soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto television and Most important+.
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