4 takeaways from Europe: Bellingham goal controversy, Barcelona's injury bug & more
Another week of European football action is in the books.
Over in Italy, we bore witness to some sublime strikes (most notably Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's against Juventus), in Spain we saw terrible refereeing decisions (most notably at the Mestalla) and over in Germany, we saw everything in-between (all bad, all involving Bayern Munich).
Here's the biggest takeaways from this past weekend's continental action.
Way back in 1978, Clive Thomas infamously blew the full-time whistle of a World Cup game when a Brazil corner kick was mid-flight into the penalty area and destined to be headed into the back of the net by Zico.
The goal didn't stand, and Brazil crashed out of the World Cup.
Fast forward 46 years, and referees are still making the same error.
Although not as pronounced as Thomas' mistake, Spanish official Jesus Gil Manzano hit the headlines for blowing up for full-time a literal nano-second before Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham headed home what he perceived to be a winning goal at the Mestalla on Saturday.
The goal didn't stand andLos Blancos lumbered back to Madrid with just one point and Bellingham suspended for the next game after beingshown a red card for his protestations.
As well as boring their fans to literal (probably) tears on Sunday evening with their 0-0 draw against Athletic Club, Barcelona also ended the game with theirtwo star midfielders on the sidelines nursing injuries.
Frenkie de Jong was the first to come off in the 25th minute, being carted off by an emergency vehicle after landing awkwardly on his ankle.
Things then went from bad to worse as Pedri came off just before half-time with a muscle injury. The 21-year-old has endured a torrid time with muscle ailments in the last few seasons, missing 69
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