PSG tear Barcelona apart 4-2, while Manchester City, on seven straight wins, fear relegation

PSG 4-2 Barcelona: the European champions end Barça's perfect start

PSG beat Barcelona 4-2 at the Parc des Princes, ending their perfect start in the Champions League. Désiré Doué opened the scoring in the 38th minute, 19-year-old Xavi Espart equalised on his debut in the competition, and then came an exchange of blows: Lucas Hernández with a header from a corner, Lamine Yamal for 2-2 in the 78th minute, then Vitinha with a long-range volley and Fabián Ruiz from an Achraf Hakimi pass for the final 4-2. The only bad news for Luis Enrique is the injury to Ousmane Dembélé, who left the pitch before half-time. The Parisians are now unbeaten in 13 Champions League matches, with 9 points from 3 rounds. Barcelona, meanwhile, have conceded in 18 consecutive matches in this competition - a figure Flick can't hide behind any Yamal goal.

Manchester City: seven wins in a row, and a penalty hanging overhead that could mean the Championship

On the table, Manchester City look perfect: seven consecutive Premier League wins and Enzo Maresca showing he can succeed his mentor Guardiola. In the courtroom the picture is completely different. An independent commission found the club guilty on 114 of 115 charges of financial breaches, and now in England there's talk of a points deduction so big that City would go down to the Championship no matter how many wins they collect on the pitch. The club is fighting back with an appeal: bank statements, accounts, documents from the Abu Dhabi government and 24 witnesses, with which it wants to prove that the sponsorship money really came from the state and not from the owner. The appeal is supposed to be completed within 12 weeks, around 21 January. How long can a club keep collecting trophies while waiting for the verdict on how it collected them?

Ronaldo: a 30-day suspension, a 255-euro fine and a missed penalty

The Portuguese federation punished Cristiano Ronaldo with a 30-day suspension and a fine of 255 euros for walking out of the national team camp after his row with coach Jorge Jesus. With an annual salary of around 208 million euros at Al-Nassr, it takes Ronaldo about 36 seconds to earn the fine. For comparison, Ricardo Carvalho got a full year's suspension for a similar move in 2011. And because the ban runs from the day of the offence, Ronaldo will most likely not miss a single match. A day later, the 41-year-old striker missed a penalty for Al-Nassr against Neom, and a Portuguese journalist reported that for now he doesn't plan to return to the national team because he feels betrayed. Federation president Pedro Proença still says: "He is our captain." When the fine is smaller than a tip, who is actually being punished?

Real want 80 million euros from the English clubs for the Super League that lived 48 hours

The Super League lasted 48 hours in 2021, but the invoice is arriving now. Real Madrid are asking Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham to pay their share of 80 million euros in founding costs, which until now have been covered by Real, Barcelona and Juventus. Florentino Pérez's argument: all 12 founders signed a shareholders' agreement, and a signature isn't erased by a public apology to the fans. At the same time, Real are bringing in Bernd Reichart, former head of the A22 company, as head of business operations - a sign that the project may be in a drawer, but the bill isn't. The English clubs are silent for now, and if they refuse to pay, the case will most likely end up in court. The only sure winners? The lawyers.

Laporta before El Clásico: "More than one rooster in the same henhouse doesn't work"

Barcelona president Joan Laporta heated up El Clásico before the first whistle. In an interview with a French newspaper, the 64-year-old took aim at Real and the project built around Kylian Mbappé: "More than one rooster in the same henhouse doesn't work, ever. The priority in football is the team and team spirit." Mbappé delivers the personal numbers, but the question of whether Vinícius, Bellingham and Rodrygo can play around him remains open. Laporta boasts of the harmony Flick has built between La Masia players and those from other football cultures, and of the La Liga title. Nicely put - from a man whose defence then promptly conceded four in Paris.