The Champions League has thrown its doors wide open with a menu full of contrasts for Spanish football: Real Madrid‘s emphatic yet hard-fought win, an epic and historic victory for Real Betis after two decades of waiting, and maximum excitement in Barcelona for FC Barcelona’s debut, all seasoned with the long list of Ballon d’Or candidates.
Marca: “Test passed”
The newspaper highlights Real Madrid’s hard-earned 2-1 win over Inter Milan, with goals from Kylian Mbappé and Federico Valverde taking advantage of Italian defensive errors and backed up by Thibaut Courtois’ saves. It also leaves room for Betis’ great comeback against Lille (2-3) and the preview of Barça’s clash with Feyenoord.
As: “Crazy win”
It puts the emphasis on the chaos at the Santiago Bernabéu, where Los Blancos suffered late on after wasting several scoring chances. The front page also highlights Barça’s match this afternoon (18:45 CET) and Spain’s prominence on the Ballon d’Or list, with six nominees from the national team.
Mundo Deportivo: “Let’s go for it”
Its main focus is on the Blaugrana side’s debut at Camp Nou against Feyenoord, with a clear message of ambition. On the awards front, it runs with “Barça gold” to celebrate the strong presence of male and female Barça players nominated for the prize.
Sport: “Nobody like Barça”
It boasts an outright record with 16 Blaugrana nominations across all Ballon d’Or categories. In its lower strip, it sums up the continental matchday by noting that “Madrid takes advantage of two gifts” and emphasizing the Betis feat: “Betis starts with a bang”.
Estadio Deportivo: “Makes its mark in the Champions League”
Dedicated entirely to Real Betis’ feat, its front page showcases the historic win in France, with a Marc Bartra brace and a goal from Troy Parrott in their long-awaited return to Europe’s top competition 21 years later.
The international press
In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport laments the mistakes against Real Madrid with “Inter’s huge gifts”, while Tuttosport delivers its verdict with “Inter beat themselves” and Corriere dello Sport sums up the match with an explicit “Mou-style”.
Meanwhile, Dutch outlet AD Sportwereld describes Barça-Feyenoord as a “Wonderful fixture”.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.
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