Very important victory for Barça at the Metropolitano. After the comeback thanks to two goals from Fermín (1-2). Below, some hot takes.

There are scenarios that would overwhelm anyone, but not Fermín López. Not him. What began as a nightmare at the Metropolitano ended with a dream finish (1-2) for a Barça side that goes into the international break as leaders thanks to the faith and talent of an Andalusian midfielder who speaks Catalan. When the Blaugrana side was struggling the most, Fermín equalized after a magical play by Pedri that marked the start of a comeback of the kind that can be worth a championship. In a match that had to be turned around completely, Hansi Flick's team exhibited a great version of themselves in the second half, capped off by another goal from the number 7, this time assisted by Lamine Yamal. It is impossible not to love them. Barça not only reaffirms their lead in the League, but also demonstrates that they know how to win convincingly in big matches.

Marc Pubill will meet Barça again this Sunday (9 pm, Movistar LaLiga), this time from a place that only a few years ago seemed difficult to imagine. The Atlético de Madrid defender is now a starter on a Champions League team and has just been proclaimed world champion with the Spanish national team. In front of him will be a club that knocked on his door several times and was interested in him both during his time at Levante and after winning the Olympic Games. Pubill's path to the elite had begun long before, when Espanyol decided to let him go and he had to return to Manresa.

As strange as it may seem –in fact, it does seem so–, the boards of Atlético de Madrid and Barça are scheduled to have lunch together before Sunday's match. Relations have never reached a breaking point and, therefore, protocol rituals are maintained. And it is strange, I say, because at the end of August of this very year, and not five years ago, the mattress-makers' CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, let out the following following the Julián Álvarez case: "We are disgusted by the falsehood, the lack of ethics, transparency and professionalism, and we can do nothing more than insist that we will not negotiate with Barça under any circumstances". As much as they may have disgusted them two months ago, now they will sit with them and reserve a privileged seat for them in the box. How nice, how civilized we all are. Congratulations! In the stands, however, such a friendly welcome is not expected.

The Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) will take advantage of the resumption of the League after the international break to correct some of the problems detected during the first seven matchdays of the competition. There are two aspects that are especially concerning: the excessive caution of the VAR and the lack of determination of some referees on the pitch.

Only seven matchdays of the League have been played, but Barça already has a six-point lead over Real Madrid. While Hansi Flick's side wins, enjoys itself, and convinces on the pitch –on Saturday with a new triumph at Sevilla's ground (1-3)–, José Mourinho cannot seem to find the key to making a team play that has a lot of quality, but does not know how to translate it into the game. On Sunday, they fell at the Metropolitano and suffered their second defeat in the League. Atlético de Madrid took advantage of a penalty and a sending off of Huijsen to take the lead on the scoreboard, and the final 2-1 could have been wider if Courtois and Rüdiger had not prevented it.

The first comeback of the season is complete. Barça had the necessary patience to turn around Allegra Poljak's opening goal and add three more points at the Johan Cruyff stadium (4-2) with a hard-fought victory that ended with goals from Vicky López, Esmee Brugts, and Graham Hansen. The blaugranes learned from their mistakes and, unlike other years, did not rush with the score against them.

It is always surprising when a footballer announces their retirement at 29. A player's professional life can extend to around 40 years, but Andrea Falcón's (Arucas, 1997) knee said enough at 28. “No matter how much I wanted to continue, you are not objective. The doctors told me that if I wanted to be able to walk, go up or down stairs, I had to make this decision. If I continued playing football, I would make my life impossible,” she confesses in a phone call with ARA.

Atlético de Madrid plays this Saturday at the Sánchez-Pizjuán (9:30 PM, Movistar) their third league match and will not be able to count on their best forward. This was confirmed by Diego Pablo Simeone, in the pre-match press conference: Julián Álvarez will not be on the list of called-up players after three days without training with his teammates. He did train alone this Friday afternoon, accompanied by a club physical trainer at the facilities of the mattress club.

Diego Pablo Simeone is a wily old fox. He knew that the mood of the Atlético de Madrid fans with Julián Álvarez, who has pushed hard to be transferred to Barça, was tense, and he saved him from the whistles in the mattress team's first league match at the Metropolitano. The Argentine forward was the only one of the World Cup finalists who was left out of the squad for the duel against Málaga, which was decided in the second half in favor of the locals (2-0). "He is not yet ready to continue taking care of the name he has," Cholo justified in the press conference prior to the match. In the one that followed, he ironically commented on some offensive chants heard at the stadium against Julián: "They are very respectful." Obviously, he didn't like them at all.

A decisive week begins for the composition of the Barça 2026/2027 squad. Many open folders on the desk of the Barcelona sporting director, Anderson Luis de Souza, Deco. Among all of them, two stand out in the form of arrivals, Rodri Hernández and Julián Álvarez. If the signing of the Madrid midfielder, made in a lightning move by Real Madrid, is awaiting an agreement with Manchester City, which understands the player's desire to leave, the operation to recruit the Atlético de Madrid forward is much greener (not to say almost impossible). Barça has already verbally agreed the terms of a five-season contract with Julián, but has repeatedly encountered the mattress club's refusal to sell him. "We will not accept 100, nor 150, nor 200 million for him," sentenced the club's CEO, Miguel Ángel Gil, a few weeks ago.

Before renewing his contract with Barça until 2028, Hansi Flick made two things very clear. First, he demanded a paradigm shift in physical preparation, something that has been materialized with the departure of Julio Tous and two of his trusted professionals. And, secondly, he made it clear that to raise his team's performance in the Champions League, it was imperative to sign two forwards at their peak. "We need two," he stressed in a pool informal with journalists a few weeks ago. The coach expects that with the departure of veteran Robert Lewandowski, the attacking front needs to be reinforced with a top-level footballer, but he also observes an excessive dependence on Lamine Yamal, especially when essential players like Raphinha Dias are out for almost three months due to injury.

Barça is now the best team in Spain after winning the Super Cup, the League, and the Cup. One more season. The Blaugranas thrashed Atlético de Madrid (3-1) to continue expanding their state hegemony with a new Copa de la Reina, the twelfth in their record. Pere Romeu's team played a very serious match from the first moment and settled the final in the first half after goals from Claudia Pina, Esmee Brugts, and Salma Paralluelo.

Six years ago, the life of Virginia Torrecilla (Cala Millor, 1994) changed completely. At just 25 years old, and right when she had just arrived at Atlético de Madrid, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. A very big impact – even more so in the midst of the covid pandemic – for a footballer who saw how, suddenly, she lost everything.

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.

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.

István Kovács's controversial performance at the Camp Nou opened a can of worms. Hansi Flick complained after the match about the refereeing errors that, according to the German coach, had conditioned the match, and Barça filed a formal complaint with UEFA to denounce that the Romanian referee's decisions "influenced the development and the outcome of the match". In this scenario of maximum tension, Roberto Rosetti, head of European refereeing, was obliged to bet on a safe bet for the return leg at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano. When it comes to saving the furniture, there are 2 names on the table: the Frenchman Clément Turpin and the Pole Szymon Marciniak. The latter, however, officiated the Inter Milan-Barça Champions League semi-final last season and his performance caused a lot of controversy. Therefore, the choice was practically reduced to a single name: Turpin, who, curiously, had already refereed the first leg of the same tie between the Catalans and the Lombards at Montjuïc, which ended 3-3.

Barça can now start putting the bottles in the fridge to have them nice and cold for when it's time to celebrate. The first episode of the trilogy of duels against Atlético de Madrid served to hit the waterline of two Madrid teams at once. Lewandowski's saving goal sinks Real Madrid in the standings and, incidentally, harms an Atlético that has already understood that Barça wants to win everything just before the Champions League duel. The Whites look up and find it hard to see an indomitable Barça that knew how to react before halftime, when it seemed they could also lose. The competitive gene of this team is beyond debate. A team that faces challenges and overcomes them. It seems there is nothing to scare a team destined to win the League after winning a match that, at times, seemed like it would end in a draw in a second half where there was no energy left in the players' legs.

Barça's heart beat until the very last minute, until the last contested ball, until the last breath of the last fan who, like all the players on their team, believed until the final whistle (3-0). Hansi Flick's players demonstrated unwavering faith, spurred on by more than 45,000 souls who accompanied them in a comeback attempt as quixotic as it was dreamt of. Marc Bernal, with a brace and a performance that cemented his status as a midfielder of the present and future, and Raphinha, after a penalty won by Pedri, who is already an integral part of the club's identity, fueled hopes that didn't translate into a ticket to the Copa del Rey final, but which are a testament to the immeasurable pride of a team. They couldn't overturn the 4-0 deficit from a disastrous first leg, but they did regain the confidence to walk with their heads held high until the end of the season.