New teammates and stunning goals

A new soccer season is back with our favorite leagues, teams, and players. Optimistically, it should be a thrilling season. In Europe, The Champions League kicked off on September 19 to 20 as the first match day. It was a fantastic start seeing notable players in new teams. For example, Jude Bellingham has made his way to Real Madrid; the midfielder did not disappoint as he scored in the 94th minute with a 1-0 win against Union Berlin. Even though players like Karim Benzema have left the club, fans are enthusiastic to see new players like Jude take Real Madrid to greater heights. 

Mr. Loyola, a social studies teacher here at OM, agrees, “Even though players like Karim Benzema have left the club, we got Bellingham, and we won both matches, so I think we might win this.” 

The Golden Boy Harry Kane is with Bayern. On his debut, he scored a goal in Bayern’s match against Manchester United, leaving them with a 4-3 win.

Matchday 2 (October 3-4, 2023) was intriguing. Newcastle made history as they won their first Champions League home game in 20 years; the team secured a victory against PSG with a 4-1 score. It was an exhilarating day for Newcastle, but now PSG regrets underestimating the team in the first place. On the other hand, Barcelona star striker Robert Lewandowski sprained his ankle after receiving a tough tackle from Porto’s defenders. However, Ferran Torres managed to score a goal, which allowed them to win against Porto. 

Match 3 took place on October 24th and 25th, and PSG came prepared. I’m not sure what Luis Enrique did, but the team is back in shape! They played against Milan and made a statement by winning 3-0. The Celtic giants and Atlético Madrid faced off, and it was an exciting match to watch. In the first half, both teams scored multiple goals, but in the second half, their defenses were strong. The game ended in a 2-2 draw. Here are the standings of the Champions League:

Group	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
1st	Bayern	Arsenal	Real Madrid	Real Socie- dad	Feye-noord	PSG	Man City	Barce-lona
2nd	Galatasa-ray	Lens	Napoli	Inter	Atlético Madrid	Dort-mund	RB Leipzig	Porto
3rd	Man Utd	Sevilla	Braga	RB Salz- burg	Lazio	New-castle	Young Boys	Shakh-tar Don-etsk
4th	Copen-hagen	PSV	Union Berlin	Benfica	Celtic	Milan	Crvena Zvezda	Ant-werp

In the Premier League, Tottenham made a comeback from being 8th last year to 1st this season, after winning a game against Fulham. Mr. Richard, a teacher from OM, comments, “This season, underdogs of soccer are bringing their game, and the big teams should not slack off for any reason.” However, teams like Manchester United and Newcastle have dropped significantly, hopefully, they will soon come back strong. Lately, Man United fans have noticed negative changes in the team, and are worried about how it would affect the team’s play; Mr. Richard criticized, “Manchester United are not unified anymore, and the coach keeps blaming it on the player! Give these men a safe space to work, a welcoming environment, and be appreciative of them. That is how Manchester United will do better.” In addition, Arsenal secured 3rd place after narrowly winning a match with Manchester City. The game was tense, as both teams desperately needed to win, but luckily for Arsenal, Gabriel Martinelli scored in the 86th minute, making them win 1-0; however, Manchester City secured the second position after winning a recent match with Brighton. Sean Hillery, an 11th grader, commented, “Let’s go! Arsenal might win this year, we just need to get the Spurs (Tottenham). We can win this!”

Meanwhile, FIFA World Cup 26 qualifiers have begun, and Venezuela has been in the spotlight. Being the only South American country who never played in the World Cup, Venezuela made a bold statement by ending Brazil’s 15-year winning streak in the CONMEBOL qualifiers with a 1-1 draw. This achievement shined a ray of hope for the Venezuelans, and hopefully, they will participate in the World Cup in 2026.

A new trend has started in the Americas, as Argentinian star Lionel Messi has made his way to Major League Soccer. Before his transfer to Inter Miami, many soccer fans began to acknowledge the MLS after hearing that Messi was moving there, and we will not be surprised if the viewers increase either. Christian Jarier, an 11th grader, commented, “I honestly just watch the games because Messi is there.” One main advantage to this transfer is that MLS players would have frequent interactions with Messi, thereby exposing them to more challenging players, which makes them better players. Another trend is the Inter Miami Messi kits. After the arrival of Messi, nearly every soccer fan in the US has Messi kits either away (black) or home (pink). Sophomore Alvaro Amador thinks “This new season is going to be awesome.”