"Real Madrid's opponents were Juventus, in the type of heavyweight clash the Champions League's rejig into a 36-team group stage was supposed to throw up on a regular basis. Wednesday's meeting fell short of classic encounters like 2003's meeting of Madrid's Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane with Juve's Pavel Nedved and Alessandro Del Piero. In 2025, Juventus are not the force of yore, though they made Madrid sweat. The sole goal came from Jude Bellingham, England's great enigma."
"Barcelona meanwhile, continue to show the depth of their La Masia youth academy. Fermin Lopez, 22, scored a hat-trick, while 17-year-old attacking midfielder Pedro Dro Fernandez supplied an assist on his Champions League debut in a 6-1 drubbing of Olympiakos. Last weekend, Toni Fernandez, six months younger than Pedro, started against Girona in La Liga. Each may play some part in Sunday's big match, with Madrid two points ahead of their eternal rivals."
"On Tuesday, Bayern's coach, Vincent Kompany signed a three-year extension after his side's faultless start to the Bundesliga campaign. The club hierarchy approves of Kompany's blooding of players like Lennart Karl and Wisdom Mike, two more 17-year-olds. Karl, whose muscular 5ft 6in frame recalls 1990s German great Thomas Hassler, completed a solo effort with a fine finish to become his club's youngest ever Champions League scorer in a 4-0 thrashing of Club Brugge."
Real Madrid beat Juventus 1-0 in a Champions League meeting that fell short of classic heavyweight encounters, with Jude Bellingham scoring the decisive goal. Barcelona displayed La Masia depth as Fermin Lopez, 22, scored a hat-trick and 17-year-old Pedro Dro Fernandez provided an assist on his Champions League debut in a 6-1 win over Olympiakos. Toni Fernandez, younger than Pedro, started against Girona in La Liga and both youngsters could feature in El Clasico, with Madrid two points clear. Bayern Munich extended coach Vincent Kompany's contract after a faultless Bundesliga start and introduced teenagers such as Lennart Karl, who became the club's youngest Champions League scorer in a 4-0 win over Club Brugge.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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