Highlights of the weekend: Lionel Messi heroics and a historical player announcement
Goal of the weekend
There will certainly be room for missiles from 30 metres in future editions, but for the first time, we picked a rather curious goal. In the 92nd minute of the match with Mlada Boleslav, Slovacko equalised in the final minutes thanks to a mistake by goalkeeper Matus Trmal. Boleslav's defenders probably didn't shout to their goalkeeper that an experienced goalscorer was waiting for his moment on the goal line. Maybe they'll get him a rearview mirror for the next game. But beware - the objects in them may be closer than they appear.
The underdog of the weekend
When nature calls, it's hard to resist. Even if you have better things to do at the moment, like a league game against the reigning champions. That's what happened to Montenegrin goalkeeper Filip Djukic for Danish side Hvidovre, who ran off the pitch and disappeared into the stadium shortly before half-time against Copenhagen. He returned soon, only to swap his grey shorts for blue ones. But the escape was not due to a sudden change in fashion preferences.
"I got sick and had to go to the toilet," Djukic said. "You know how it is, if you have to, you have to. So I was in a hurry. My stomach hurt, so I couldn't hold it in. People from my team put me in different shorts so I wouldn't make a fool of myself in front of my former club. It was just a sh*tty game," the goalkeeper added with a smile.
To complete the goalkeeper's joke, Djukic conceded two goals against Copenhagen, his former employer. The league newcomers from Hvidovre lost 2-0 and after five games of the new season, they are still without a win.
From social media
Something for fans of sustainable urban travel. Experienced German striker Kevin Behrens started the new Bundesliga season with a hat-trick to lead a 4-1 win over Mainz. And got there pretty quickly too!
Weekend stats
Lionel Messi is starting to conquer the US in the pink jersey of Inter Miami, just as expected. The MLS promo revolves around him, and in the Leagues Cup, where MLS teams clashed with teams from Mexico's Liga MX, he scored goal after goal to lead Inter to the trophy. The fact that the Argentine magician joined a team that was only formed five years ago has its undeniable advantages (the contract perhaps doesn't even need to be mentioned). For example, the fact he will be able to rewrite club records pretty easily.
10 goals in the Leagues Cup catapulted Messi to third place among the top scorers in Miami's short history. The Inter captain hasn't even made his MLS debut yet, with his first game coming on Sunday night. Perhaps he will add another goal to his super-fast chase as he is only 19 shots behind compatriot Gonzalo Higuain.
By the way, have you also noticed that Messi celebrates some of his goals like a comic book hero? He once summoned the mighty hammer of Mjolnir like Thor, then opted for a Wakandan salute a la Black Panther and finally shot out webs in the manner of Spider-Man.
Could it be that the divine LM10 wants to show that he is a downright superhuman against the other players in America? Or is the reason much simpler and, more importantly, kinder?
"My kids are always on vacation, so I watch superhero movies with them in the evenings. They said if I score a goal, I'm supposed to celebrate it like one of those heroes. But I only do it at home games when the kids are here, close to me, so we can share these moments together," Messi confided.
Next time he can snap his fingers like the villain Thanos - defences reliably disappear in front of him too.
Story of the weekend
The Bellingham brothers are experiencing very similar summers, just with a few levels of difference. The older of the two, 20-year-old Jude, swapped Borussia Dortmund for Real Madrid over the summer. The Spanish side spent over 100 million euros to sign him. The younger of the brothers, 17-year-old Jobe, also moved, albeit only within the Championship. Instead of Birmingham, he now plays for Sunderland.
It's as if the siblings have agreed to play equally well too. Jude masterminded Real's turnaround at Almeria on Saturday night, scoring two goals and assisting a third. Sunderland were also down against Rotherham, but Jobe quickly equalised, before adding a second in the turnaround at the Stadium of Light. It was also his first-ever goal in professional football.
Photo of the weekend
Announcing a new player can be done in many ways. But with all due respect to the clubs' marketing departments - even the most elaborate video simply can't beat the moment when a new player is welcomed by the fans themselves. Our pick of the weekend's photos comes from Turkey, where Galatasaray fans were able to celebrate not only the 2-0 win over Trabzonspor but also the announcement of Hakim Ziyech's arrival, who duly enjoyed his time in the Istanbul giant's packed arena.
