Julián Álvarez scored for Atletico Madrid and Giuliano Simeone had the assist in their 1-0 win vs. Mallorca.
Álvarez made it seven goals for Atletico Madrid, scoring the only goal of the match in their 1-0 win. At 0-0, it was a corner kick for Mallorca but it was cleared by Oblak and the ball fell to Simeone.
The Argentine would receive the ball and he would get the better of Pablo Maffeo, passing to Álvarez and he would score to give Atletico Madrid the 1-0 lead.
Alejandro Garnacho scored for Manchester United in their 3-0 home win over Leicester City on matchday 11 of the Premier League.
With the Red Devils leading by two in the 82nd minute, Garnacho received a pass from Bruno Fernandes on the left side of the field, just outside the box, and struck a powerful, well-placed shot with his right foot into the top right corner. It was a beautiful goal from the Argentine winger, who had come off the bench in the second half and now has seven goals and four assists this season.
Argentines Lisandro Martínez for Manchester United and Facundo Buonanotte for Leicester City played the entire match.
Lionel Messi scored for Inter Miami CF in their 3-2 home loss to Atlanta United in the first round of the MLS Cup tiebreaker game. With this result, Gerardo “Tata” Martino’s team is eliminated from the competition and will not play another official match until February 2025, when they compete in the first round of the Concacaf Champions Cup.
At 2-1 in favor of Atlanta United, Messi received a cross just inches from the goal and headed it into the back of the net to level the score at 2-2. However, his goal wasn’t enough, as Inter Miami conceded again only 11 minutes later, allowing 9th-seeded Atlanta to secure an upset over top-seeded Inter Miami.
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke with host Alejandro Fantino for Neura Media and commented on Lionel Messi, Paulo Dybala, Nico Paz and the possibility of coaching a club in the future.
Reflecting on his first contact with Messi as an interim coach, he said:
“When Pablo [Aimar] and I were interim coaches, we called Messi over video to explain our vision. He was happy, especially because he has a lot of respect for Pablo. We told him we wanted him with us for those six games, that we were creating the right conditions for him, even though he didn’t know if he would return.”
On Paulo Dybala, Scaloni commented:
“My son loves Dybala. He celebrates goals like him and imitates him. I see it all the time.”
Talking about his approach to young players like Nico Paz, he mentioned:
“We told Nico, ‘Go out and do what you know. If you make mistakes, it’s no problem.’ Every new kid has to sing; they made Nico get on a table, and Garnacho too. This helps the group accept them and makes them feel at ease. The strength of the Argentina squad is in the group.”
Regarding his future in coaching, the Albiceleste coach said,
“The day I’m no longer with the national team, I’m open to coaching any club. People always link me to Boca… but my kids are River fans.”
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni spoke with host Alejandro Fantino for Neura Media, admitting he was close to leaving the national team after their win over Brazil in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Here’s what Scaloni said about his unexpected comments at the November 2023 press conference following Argentina’s 1-0 victory over Brazil at the Maracanã Stadium:
“Last year, after the match against Brazil at the Maracanã, I wasn’t feeling right with myself; I wasn’t comfortable. Certain fears came to mind that I hadn’t had before.
“I didn’t talk to anyone about it. I kept it to myself and felt I needed to reflect because I wasn’t at 100%, wasn’t comfortable. I needed to take a step back and reflect. Everything that had happened weighed on me, and maybe that’s when I started to process it all.
“What I went through may have created some anxiety. I talk a lot with my coaching staff and my wife. When you stop to think, we’ve already achieved something unimaginable in terms of titles, and then you wonder, ‘What’s next?’ We always want more, people always want more. But what would be more than this?
“I was close to leaving because I wasn’t in a good place. There’s no point being somewhere if you’re not yourself. The people I work with need me to be honest. I spoke up, said what I felt, and they told me to take some time. With time, I realized that everyone would support and help me, so we decided to continue. I renewed the energy I’d supposedly lost.”
