Weekend highlights: Record-breaking Yamal and Giroud the goalkeeper
Goal of the weekend
After losing to Clermont and suffering a crushing defeat to Newcastle in the Champions League, PSG bounced back with a star-studded team beating Rennes 3-1. The very first goal of the match was a beauty - after a solo run by Ousmane Dembele, Portuguese midfielder Vitinha took the ball and curled it into the far corner from the opposite edge of the box. Experienced goalkeeper Steve Mandanda stretched as far as he could, but it was out of reach.
Underperformer of the weekend
It could have been the game his life, but instead turned out to be one of the most unlucky. Czech midfielder Alex Kral scored in the 18th minute to make it 2-1 in a tense encounter between Union Berlin and Borussia Dortmund, but was injured during the celebrations and had to be taken off. Once off the pitch, he had to listen to his goal being disallowed after a VAR intervention and ended up watching the opponents win 4-2.
Social media highlight
More than one video has been circulating on social media focusing on Lionel Messi's bodyguard running along the touchline and keeping his star protege in full view, and that was the case again after Inter Miami's loss to Cincinnati. He stopped someone who ran onto the pitch, but quickly realised that it was not an intruder but a small, enthusiastic fan. So he personally led the boy straight to Messi and gave him the experience of a lifetime.
Statistic of the weekend
What did you do when you were 16? Barcelona talent Lamine Yamal can say "I broke records!" Barcelona struggled against Granada, trailing 2-0 after two goals from Bryan Zaragoza in the first 30 minutes, but they recovered to get a 2-2 draw, thanks in part to the young striker's first-ever La Liga goal. It was a simple one, as Joao Felix squared it in front of an empty net, but Yamal will remember it forever. It made him the youngest goalscorer in Spanish league history, at the age of 16 years and 87 days.
Story of the weekend
The hero of the weekend is definitely Olivier Giroud. The experienced AC Milan striker had to go in goal against Genoa when Mike Maignan was shown a red card in the 99th minute and Pioli's team had no subs left. The Frenchman then made a save to secure a narrow victory. "As a kid, I liked going in goal, that's why I went in. I took the jersey home and framed it," he said in an interview with Sky Sports after the game.
AC Milan duly took advantage of the story that has been making the rounds on social media. On the squad page on their website, they now include Giroud among the goalkeepers and have started selling a goalkeeper shirt with Giroud's name and number in the official fan shop.
Photo of the weekend
Wonderkids have been leaving the Portuguese league for huge sums in recent years, so it may come as a surprise that the biggest star of the competition is now a player who came from the English second division. Swedish striker Victor Gyokeres was already on a roll for Coventry last season (21+ goals and 12 assists), and has picked up where he left off this campaign.
He has scored six goals in seven games for Sporting Lisbon and is the key to the side leading the league and not losing once. He also scored in the win over Arouca at the weekend and an AFP photographer took a lovely picture of him celebrating.
