VAR contested in England
Liverpool’s defeat against Toulouse did not go unnoticed across the Channel. Indeed, the local press is crying scandal this morning and is violently attacking VAR! This is the case of Daily Star which plays on words with “prank call” And “VAR” to speak of “French stuffing» ! “Klopp gets robbed again», Estimates the tabloid. What is being singled out is the last action of the match, which could have been an equalizer for the Reds, but the VAR decided otherwise due to a hand from Mac Allister. THE Daily Mirror speaks frankly about “conspiracy in Toulouse» ! “A new VAR farce deprives the Reds of an equalizer in the last minute.” THE Daily Telegraph even apostrophizes the video referee and signs: “you went too far with VAR this time! Klopp blames the referees for the 13 seconds that passed between the handball and the illegal goal.» In its interior pages, the Daily Mail estimate that “Klopp angry but the Reds deserve to lose in Toulouse.» Finally, the Daily Express simply speaks of “bad luck in Toulouse» for the Liverpool Reds.
Xavi remobilizes his troops
In Spain, FC Barcelona is experiencing a mini-crisis this week after the defeat in the Champions League against Shakhtar (1-0). So yesterday, it was a crisis meeting on all levels of the club! Xavi saw his direction and spoke with his players. This morning, Mundo Deportivo gives us the Catalan coach’s plan to turn his team around and “Ward off bad luck», as the daily explains. “During the meeting between the dressing room and Xavi there was self-criticism and it was admitted that they needed to take a step forward and think about the collective. 3 points stood out in particular: 1. become a united, organized team again, which does not disunite and which attacks and defends as a unit. 2. Find advanced pressing, well executed and improve ball output in defense. 3. Overcome the blow of the Clasico defeat to regain confidence.» In short, Xavi is putting his battle plan into action to prevent the Blaugrana season from turning into a nightmare. For his part, Sport teaches us that the “decision is imminent» for Vitor Roque! “Barca are pushing for salary cap space in January and optimism is growing that they will be able to sign a player. The sporting management and Xavi must reach a consensus on whether to bring in the Brazilian now or opt for signing a midfielder.» Response in the coming weeks!
France marches on Europe
France had a great European evening last night! And we start with the biggest surprise of the evening, the major feat of Toulouse which won at home against Liverpool (3-2). Obviously, this magnificent victory made the front page of the local daily, La Dépêche du Midi which headlines: “TFC madness! Toulouse wrote one of its most beautiful pages in its history by beating Liverpool, one of the greats in Europe. A real feat celebrated with the supporters.» For their part, OM won on the pitch of AEK Athens (2-0). For Provencethe Phocaeans achieved “good move!» «OM took a step towards qualification yesterday by winning in Athens. Teammates Mbemba and Vitinha, first in their group, now have a four-point lead over AEK.» At the same time, Stade Rennais undoubtedly delivered its best performance of the season by beating Panathinaikos at Roazhon Park (3-1). As pointed out West France«reduced to 10, Rennes offers itself a crazy success» ! But the daily newspaper which best sums up the madness which seized our French clubs on the European scene last night is the newspaper The Team who bursts out and says: “The Europa League 1. After the inglorious defeats of PSG and Lens in the Champions League, the three French clubs involved in the Europa League achieved a flawless performance, with three victories.” Not bad ! Also note LOSC’s draw against Slovan Bratislava (1-1) in the Europa Conference League.
