Glorified friendlies

It is heard to deny that in this second round of the 2026-27 season there have been some incredible matches. PSG won 2-4 in Manchester over City in a match where the financial cheaters appeared to a certain degree unlucky, with even Haaland having a bad day (even though he scored twice). In Rome, mighty Real Madrid came back from 3-1 down to win 3-4 in the final minutes of the match, while Club Brugge surprised with another 3-4 victory in Italy, over Inter Milan, with three goals by the young German Nicolo Tresoldi. The Norwegian sides continue strong, with Viking Stavanger tying 3-3 at home to mighty Bayern Munich, although the Germans came back from being 2-0 down. Bodø/Glimt defeated Broussia Dortmund 1-0 at home, while FC Barcelona trashed Galatasaray 1-4 in Istanbul, Aston Villa likewise trashed another Turkish team, Fenerbahce, 6-0 in Birmingham, and Liverpool trashed LASK 3-6 in Austria.

Indeed some great matches, great goals, but with only two matches into a league system where the top 24 out of 36 go through, there is nobody really fighting for anything important just yet. Teams like Porto, Inter, or Napoli, who have lost both matches, just need a couple of wins to make it, while nothing is certain yet for the leaders PSG, FC Barcelona, etc. as 9 teams have maximum points, and could easily fall in the table with just a defeat.

So, while great games, the true excitement is still absent from the CL, and that is the disappointment of this league system that UEFA appears to have created just to make more money. 

Just put Doku in

After the walk in the desert of national team football it was delightful to have the leagues start again, and nothing less than a match between Liverpool and Manchester City.

The Manchester side is immersed in a big scandal of financial malpractice. Basically, the club has been cheating for years, but in a world where money dominates, they have already appealed the finding that have found them guilty, and the legal back and forth will probably take years, as the side leads the Premier League, but should probably be forcefully relegated, such as other clubs that have been found to do the same.

But it is Manchester City, one of the biggest clubs in the world.

On the pitch the City side showed their quality in defeating a Liverpool side that had been the better side just until 10 minutes into the second half, when manager Enzo Maresca decided to replace Iliman Ndiaye with the great Belgian Jeremy Doku. He immediately changed the match, forcing Ryan Gravenberch to miss a tackle and get a second yellow, as well as create a chance that Erling Haaland scored the first goal on. Soon after, Doku himself scored a second for Manchester City, before Rayan Cherki made it 0-3 on a goal that seemed more like futsal.

It was pure Doku powerplay as the financial cheaters of Manchester City make seal their first place in the Premier League. 

Hoping for Brøndby

Now that I was in Denmark for some days, I had hoped to be able to go to see Brøndby play their arch-rivals of FC Copenhagen. But it was not possible to go to a game where I have never seen Brøndby lose, and frankly, if I was there, I do not think they would have lost.

I have that effect :)

While the club undoubtedly has the best fans in the world, its players are not following suit. They played much better than they did in last week's 4-1 loss in a hapless and poor performance against FC Midtjylland, but Brøndby's weaknesses were nevertheless exposed against an FC Copenhagen side that also did not impress (the fact that they are leading the league is perhaps a testimony to the current lack of quality of the Danish league). Firstly, Brøndby's central defense has one huge aerial opening, where the central defender appear to leave everything open to tall guys. FC Copenhagen could and should have been ahead with two or three headers that their strikers shamefully missed when totally open. It was in fact a lucky header by the veteran Andreas Conrelius late in the second half that gave Copenhagen the victory in a match where the Brøndby Central defenders could not look beyond their haircuts. 

Brøndby's second weakness are their lack of goals; they have the ball a lot, combine really well at times, fight well, well-organised most of the time, but when it comes to the most important part of football - creating chances and scoring - , they are as dangerous as a blind chicken; imprecise, weak and even careless shooting. 

I truly hope that Brøndby can improve. They have a young talented side, but still need to improve a lot if the unrealised dreams of Denmark's best club is to be reality. I will still support them all the way!

The best sausage in the world of football

I have a fondness for Lyngby Boldklub. More than 30 ago when I was studying in Birkerød, I would occasionally go to watch a game in their tiny stadium that looks more like a high school training ground than a top league stadium. Despite that, it is a club with a proud history and talented academy, that ascended back to the top Danish league this season. I returned after many years to watch the league match between Lyngby and FC Sønderjylland, the bottom team in the Danish league. The match was full of small mistakes and ended 1-1, but it was still great to be back in Lyngby, and most of all, to try one of the legendary sausages from Lyngby stadium; without a doubt the best sausages in the world of football!

The fool and the superstar

Robert Lewandowski is a superstar. Rodrigo de Paul is not. The Argentine is, on the other hand, a good but highly overrated footballer. He is so immersed in his own insecurity that he completely lacks the respect that should be intrinsic in any sport. More than anything, it is just sad that manners and mutual respect are missing elements in this modern world, also in football.