The questioning of Barça players
The Barça locker room is worried after two consecutive defeats against PSG in the Champions League and Seville in Liga. The players, including Pau Cubarsí and Alejandro Balde, recognize a lack of intensity, self-criticism and collective quality, while Hansi Flick recalls that egos harm success and insist on the collective game. Part of the problems also comes from physical fatigue, accumulated after seven games in 21 days, which affected the defensive structure and endurance of certain players. Despite these difficulties, the locker room remains aware that there is still a lot to do in October and that everything is possible to straighten the situation. The objective is now to find intensity, cohesion and rigor so as not to repeat these errors in the future.
Real Madrid wants to repatriate two Castilla players
In the newspaper ASwe talk about the future Mercato du Real Madrid. Two major movements are to be expected for the summer of 2026: recruiting a new defensive midfielder and repatriating Nico Paz. The first file concerns Chema Andrés, 20, currently brilliant in Stuttgart where he won as an indisputable holder. Madrid still has 50 % of its rights and could recover it for around € 10 million, an amount deemed affordable. The club believes that there is no real lining in Tchouameni, and Chema embodies the ideal profile: large, technical and disciplined tactically. In parallel, Nico Paz, today in Como, refused a final transfer while waiting to return to the Bernabéu. His return would cost € 9 million, and he is already considered a future Real executive.
Concern in Liverpool
In Liverpool, Mohamed Salah is going through a delicate period, confronted for the first time with questions about his place in the team despite his still correct statistics, with 3 goals and 3 assists. But its performance fell, with a successful dribbling rate from 42.3 % to 12.5 % and less presence in the opposing surface. The departure of Trent Alexander-Arnold and the arrival of new players have changed offensive automatisms, which allows opposing defenders to stop Salah more easily. At 33, the Egyptian must also deal with natural physical decline and the need to reinvent himself while guiding the new generation. Florian Wirtz also crosses a complicated start to Liverpool with zero goal or assist in nine games, which sparked criticism in England, notably Wayne Rooney and Jamie Carragher. The former German captain Philipp Lahm defends him, and stresses that adapting to a big club and a new championship takes time, but that his quality remains intact.
