Barça thrashed Feyenoord 5-1in their Champions League debut and confirmed the good feelings of the last few weeks. The Blaugrana returned to showing their best version and have already scored 22 goals in five matches. With an average of 4.4 goals per game, they are the team from the main European leagues that has scored the most at the start of this competition, and only in one match—against Athletic Club—did they not reach five goals.

A rout to start the Champions League with a smile (5-1). Barça swept past Feyenoord with a performance in line with the formidable start to the season they are currently having. Below, some quick notes.

It is the Cup that everyone desires. The one that the 'barcelonistas' dream of, be it Lamine Yamal or an anonymous member. After two years of winning the League, the challenge is the big-eared cup and the final at the Metropolitano. The League is magnificent, but it does not quite fill the belly of a hungry team that, to debut in this edition, signed an offensive festival turned into a statement of intent. The competition is long, but Barça already commands respect after thrashing a Feyenoord that ended up drenched at the Camp Nou (5-1). They were hit by a downpour from the sky and a downpour on the grass led by Raphinha, who scores goals in twos. For the Dutch, it was a day to forget: they found neither the sun they thought they would find in Barcelona. Quite the opposite. The sky fell on top of them.

Barça now knows its first six opponents on its path to the Warsaw final, scheduled for the last weekend of May (28th, 29th, or 30th, with the specific day yet to be determined). After touching the sky in Oslo on Saturday, May 23rd, the 'blaugranes' are once again embarking on an exciting journey with the goal of lifting the fifth Champions League in the club's history.

Barça already knows the first part of the path to reach the dreamed Champions League final which will be played on June 5, 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. Hansi Flick's team, which fell in the quarterfinals of the previous edition precisely in this venue, will face very tough rivals in the first phase of the competition.

If in the most glorious eras of contemporary Barça, the leader of the midfield was Sergio Busquets, now the Catalan club has not only strengthened itself with a Ballon d'Or winner and the best player of the World Cup, but also with the figure who most closely resembles Sergio Busquets: Rodrigo Hernández is now officially a Culer. Barça will pay Manchester City a transfer fee of 60 million euros fixed, 11.5 million in easily achievable variables (such as, for example, depending on the games played in the League) and another 5 million euros in case of winning the Champions League. The Madrid-born defensive midfielder has signed until 2030.

The triumph of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League final led to a night of incidents in the French capital. While the team led by Luis Enrique celebrated winning the title, incidents began in the streets of Paris that ended with the death of one person, a motorcyclist who fell. The French government announced 780 arrests – 457 of them in police custody – 32% more than a year ago for the same celebration. For years in France, sporting successes, both for clubs and the national team, have ended in serious riots. In this case, 57 police officers were injured, as well as 219 participants in the festivities, eight of whom seriously. Of the 780 arrests, 480 took place in Paris.

When The Killers started to hit it big, Arsenal won what was their last Premier League in 22 years (2004) and played their first Champions League final (2006). Mr. Brightside, the first big hit from the well-known band from Las Vegas, defined a generation at the beginning of the century. It was, just like other tracks by The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand or Arcade Fire, a classic on DJ Amable's playlists at Sala Razzmatazz and caused dopamine rushes at Karma, a club that closed a few months ago after half a century filling the nights of thousands of Barcelonans. Then came Human, which became one of Pep Guardiola's Barça anthems, and other anthems of verse, chorus, bridge, coda, and raised fist. What times those were.

“After receiving criticism all year, I hope they praise us a little now, as it's our turn. We are doing a very good job”. That’s how emphatically Cata Coll spoke after winning the Champions League final in Oslo (4-0). Barça once again touched the sky in Norway after a complicated season marked by criticism and doubts. After the triumph, it was time to celebrate. The night in Oslo was long. "We celebrated it as it should be," said the young Clara Serrajordi, from La Masia, when she arrived in Barcelona, where thousands of people were waiting on a stage on Avinguda de Maria Cristina despite the heatwave, which caused some scares among those present. This was not the case for Joan Laporta, who ended up on stage embracing Alexia Putellas while the members of the group Figa Flawas sang euphorically.

The images of Ewa Pajor celebrating the second goal, lifted by her teammates, with a fist in the air, will remain in the memory of Barça's women's team's fourth Champions League title. Or that of the players embracing after Salma, with two more goals, sealed the thrashing of Olympique de Lyon in the Oslo final (4-0). But the title would not be a reality without the performance of the player who was a hundred meters away, being the team's last bastion, keeping a clean sheet and holding the team together when it was going through its toughest moments.

This Saturday (6:00 PM, TV3), Barça will once again be the center of attention across Europe. For the sixth consecutive year, the blaugranes will compete in the Champions League final. It will not be just any match. Pere Romeu's team will face Jonatan Giráldez's Olympique Lyonnais, the former coach of the Catalan team. The two best teams in Europe will meet at the Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo. The final has been preceded by the difficulties fans –and the press– have had in reaching Norway, but UEFA has already posted the sold-out ticket sign. Thousands of culers will fill the streets of Oslo and will try to win the battle in the stands, where 28,000 people are expected. Among them, the family of Caroline Graham Hansen, who will be playing at home.

A player will be sent off if they address an opponent with their mouth covered. This is the rule promoted by the International Football Association Board (IFAB), the body that regulates the rules of the game. The measure has been approved with urgent character at the request of FIFA due to the alleged racist insults denounced by Vinícius Júnior from Gianluca Prestianni, a Benfica player.

The dream of Oslo is now a reality. On May 23, Barça will play in a Champions League final again – the sixth consecutive, the seventh in the last eight years – after beating Bayern Munich at Camp Nou. Pere Romeu's team has shown that they also know how to compete bravely against great rivals and overcome adverse scenarios, which they are not accustomed to throughout the season. Goals from Salma Paralluelo, Ewa Pajor, and Alexia Putellas – with a brace – allow Barça to dream of their fourth Champions League (4-2). In the Oslo final, they will face Olympique Lyon, featuring former blaugranas Jonatan Giráldez and Ingrid Engen.

"There is no intent. Salma has very long hair, there might be a desire to stretch the shirt on Kett's part, but when the hair is long, you can stretch it a bit unintentionally. The red card is too much," said José Barcala, coach of Bayern Munich, after the match. Barça drew one all at the Allianz Arena and will play for the Champions League final next Sunday (4:30 p.m.) at Camp Nou.

Barça draws at Bayern Munich (1-1) and will have to win next Sunday (4:30 PM) at Camp Nou to be in the Champions League final in Oslo. The blaugranes took an early lead with a goal from Ewa Pajor in an imposing setting like the Allianz Arena —which acted as the 12th player—, but saw Kett —who was sent off after pulling Salma's hair— equalize the match in the second half.

Despite trying until the last second, Barça could not make the comeback against Atlètic de Madrid effective. The script of the match unfolded as expected, with Hansi Flick's team overwhelming Cholo Simeone's players, to the point that at times they opted to place a line of seven players in front of Juan Musso's goal. With the Blaugrana desperately seeking a gap in the defense, one of the most relevant actions of the duel occurred. Marcos Llorente threaded a good pass between the lines to leave Alexander Sorloth with a clear advantage against the Catalan defense. Eric Garcia, who was unable to cut off the attack, brought the Norwegian down when he was the last man, thus earning a direct red card and leaving Barça with 10 men at a crucial moment of the match.

Suffering, suffering much more than expected, but Bayern achieved the objective: to eliminate Real Madrid and qualify for the Champions League semi-finals (4-3, 6-4 on aggregate). Despite having a 1-2 from the first leg at the Bernabéu, the Bavarians needed a goal in the last minute from Luis Díaz, when the whites were playing with 10 men, and a goal from Olise in stoppage time to secure passage to the penultimate round of the competition. Madrid fell with honor, but fell, and is condemned to a second season without a trophy.

It couldn't be. Here are some hot takes.

It wasn't meant to be. Barça, eliminated from the Champions League after falling just short of a comeback (1-2). Despite finishing with ten players, the Catalans pushed until the end. Here are some immediate thoughts.

There is a veteran guide at Old Trafford who, when you reach the changing rooms of the imposing Manchester United stadium, stops in front of a mirror and likes to make this joke: "This is where Cristiano Ronaldo used to have a good time looking at himself in the mirror before each match," he says to the complicit smile of the tourists taking part in the tour. The Portuguese star was the first to love himself and to make it known, with more than one unfortunate statement: "They envy me because I'm handsome and rich." Represented by Jorge Mendes, he became a global star at United, first, and then at Real Madrid.Cristiano, not always easy to manage in the dressing room, reached 100 professional matches at twenty years old (19 years and 348 days) and with two trophies, a Super Cup with Sporting Portugal and an FA Cup with the Manchester team. Leo Messi did it at 20 years and 248 days and with five titles, including two Leagues and a Champions League. Lamine Yamal reached this figure much earlier: 17 years and 292 days, with a League and a European Championship under his belt. Now, at just 18 years old, he is on his way to winning his third League, as well as having won a Cup and two more Super Cups, and being Spain's star for the World Cup. Before reaching adulthood, he had already become a star. With all that it entails.