This Gonzalo Higuain first goal v Spurs saw Juve take an early read in the two sides’ Round of 16 Champions League clash in Turin on 13 February, 2018. Higuain’s goal v Tottenham came in the 2nd minute of the game- fantastic finish from the free kick, but the Argentine was perhaps offside. Higuain went on to score another goal in this clash before Spurs came from behind to draw 2-2
UEFA Champions League
The world’s most expensive player vs the world’s best- Neymar v Ronaldo in European showdown
The world’s best footballer will square off against the world’s most expensive player when Real Madrid and PSG lock horns in a blockbuster Round of 16 clash in the Champions League on Wednesday evening. The Ronaldo v Neymar clash is one of many sub plots in this intriguing clash between Zinedine Zidane’s defending champions and Unai Emery’s league leaders.
PSG topped their group ahead of Bayern Munich, which would ordinarily have meant an “easy” opponent in the Round of 16, but the Parisians have perhaps got the toughest draw of them all in the form of Real Madrid, winners of the last two editions of the tournament and the first team to defend their European crown. Zinedine Zidane’s side have struggled domestically this season but have started to click into gear in recent weeks. They’re also the reigning World champions, having won the Club World Cup two months ago
Kristijan Bistrovic CSKA Moscow 2018 | Russian side’s first purchase since 2015
Russian outfit CSKA Moscow have completed the signing of youngster Kristijan Bistrovic from Slaven Belupo. The transfer wouldn’t perhaps otherwise make news in the football world, but it is interesting for one reason- the 19 year old Bistrovic is the FIRST player CSKA have bought since early 2015, effectively making it a three year gap between two permanent transfers. Their signings during this period have effectively been loans, free transfers and academy prospects, and given that CSKA competed in the group stages of the Champions League this season, that’s a pretty impressive stat for a CL team. We’re unsure if that’s a record in the modern CL era, but a mind boggling stat all the same.
The player mentioned above that CSKA signed in 2015, Carlos Strandberg, no longer plies his trade for them though.
CSKA have had some really long serving players- when they played Liverpool in the Super Cup back in 2005, they had Akinfeev in goal and Ignashevich and Berezutski in defence, and a decade later (in 2017), the trio were still in the starting XI when they took on Manchester United in the Champions League