🥐 Champions, Ballon d'Or and Sudamericana, Wednesday's 5️⃣ stories

🥐 Champions, Ballon d'Or and Sudamericana, Wednesday's 5️⃣ stories The start of the Champions League has delivered a mixed opening round for Spanish football, while the international spotlight turns to the Ballon d'Or nominations and South America buzzes with the quarter-finals. Unconvincing win for Real Madrid Real Madrid began their European campaign with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan. Goals from Kylian Mbappé and Fede Valverde put the match on track by taking advantage of Italian mistakes, although a standout performance from Thibaut Courtois rescued Los Blancos in a nervy finish. Mixed fortunes for the Spanish sides Real Betis marked a triumphant return to Europe’s top club competition by beating Lille 3-2 with a superb comeback. The negative note came from Villarreal, who ended up losing 3-2 on their tough trip to Borussia Dortmund after a disastrous final few minutes. Time for Barcelona and Atlético The action continues this afternoon. FC Barcelona host Feyenoord at Camp Nou (18:45 CET) knowing they need to get off to a good start. Later, Atlético Madrid face a very tough away test against Liverpool at Anfield (21:00 CET). Spanish dominance in the Ballon d'Or France Football has officially announced the Ballon d'Or nominees, with a huge Spanish presence among the leading names. In both the men’s and women’s categories, Spanish players and coaches dominate the nomination lists after a brilliant season. Boca strike first in the Sudamericana In South America, Boca Juniors got off to a strong start in their Copa Sudamericana quarter-final tie. The Xeneize won 1-0 at La Bombonera and will defend this slim advantage in the second leg in São Paulo. This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.