Tikveš Brought Down the Leader, Liverpool Bought a Teenager After the Window Shut: The Day the Runs Ended

Tikveš brought down the leader: Nfanli Sila's hat-trick buried Shkëndija's run

Five wins in a row, no defeats, and a calm stroll toward the top of the First League - that was Shkëndija until Saturday in Kavadarci. Then Nfanli Sila came on. The Nigerian striker scored a hat-trick, the first goal still in the opening half and the other two after the break, and Tikveš celebrated 3:1. Goalkeeper Ramani had no answer to a single one of those shots. Islami headed the Tetovo side back into hope, and then the same Islami earned himself a red card and left ten men on the pitch. When one man takes both your lead and your player, it is not a day for alibis. Top spot in this league is clearly not defended with the calendar, but with ninety minutes.

Shkëndija Arachinovo took Štip with an 85th-minute goal: three points off a foul on discipline

The second story from the same round is quieter, but carries the same lesson. Shkëndija Arachinovo won in Štip against Bregalnica 1:0, and the goal came only in the 85th minute through Mehmed - after Maksimov was sent off and the hosts were left a man down. Even then the visitors made sure it would not be entirely clean: Fazlagić also saw red before the end. Two newcomers to the top flight, two teams tasting the strongest domestic competition for the first time this season, and the difference was made by one situation with a man advantage. The question left for the Štip stands is why discipline is the first thing to fall when it gets tight.

Liverpool signed an eighteen-year-old three days after the window closed

The transfer window officially shut, and Liverpool announced a new name anyway: Gilian Ngesan, an eighteen-year-old striker from Saint-Étienne. He formally joins in January, and will spend this season on loan at Brest. That is the third teenager the Reds have taken this summer, after defender Ifeanyi Nduka and goalkeeper Luka Brugmans - both immediately sent out on loan. Ngesan has only 13 appearances and one goal for Saint-Étienne, but he also has four goals from the Under-17 World Cup and a place in that tournament's team of the competition. With Viktor Muñoz and Bradley Barcola already in the queue, the boy is joining a line that barely moves. Clubs stopped buying players for now a long time ago - they buy options for 2029, and hope at least one pays off.

Barcelona has not given up on Julián Álvarez: a contract to 2030, and January is being said out loud

The summer passed, Álvarez stayed at Atlético, but the story does not end there. According to his representatives, Atlético could offer the player to Barcelona in January - despite a contract running until 2030. The 26-year-old Argentine said publicly where he wants to play, and paid the price immediately: Atlético fans whistled at him in the 2:2 draw with Villarreal, and he was not in the squad at all for the 3:1 win over Sevilla. The numbers are clear - 49 goals and 17 assists in 107 matches for Atlético. Barcelona wanted him after Ferran Torres and Lewandowski left, hit a wall, and in the end took Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal as a temporary solution. When a player says out loud that he wants to be at another club, he plays the remaining months as a guest in his own dressing room.

UEFA invented a "debut patch" in the Champions League - and immediately turned it into a collectors' card

From this season anyone playing their first match in the Champions League will wear a small patch on the sleeve with the word "debut" stamped into the starball logo. The condition is stepping onto the pitch - anyone who sat on the bench waits for the next chance. The most interesting part comes after the final whistle: the patch is removed, authenticated and sent off to end up in a unique collectors' card signed by the player. The same thing has already been rolled out in baseball and at this summer's World Cup. So a boy's first step onto the biggest stage in European football is now cut off, packaged and sold before that boy has even grasped what happened. UEFA calls it "new experiences for fans and collectors". There is a shorter word for the same thing.