Hansi Flick has been dealt a fresh injury blow ahead of Barcelona's critical Champions League trip to Slavia Prague, with Ferran Torres ruled out for approximately 10 days with a hamstring issue. The Spaniard joins the suspended Lamine Yamal on the sidelines, leaving the Catalans short in attack. However, there is positive news for the Blaugrana as Raphinha returns to the squad, providing a timely boost as the club chases a top-eight finish to avoid the dreaded play-off round.

On the weekend that the Bundesliga returned after its winter hiatus and two of Serie A's top three met in a crucial clash in the fight for the Scudetto, much of Europe was focused on cup competitions of varying degrees of importance. England and France played host to the latest rounds of their domestic tournaments while Spain and Turkey followed France's lead from earlier in the week in crowning their Super Cup champions.

Barcelona claimed a record-extending 16th Spanish Super Cup title by defeating Real Madrid 3-2 in the second Clasico of the season in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Sunday. Raphinha scored twice and Robert Lewandowski also found the back of the net as Hansi Flick's side remained dominant over their bitter rivals by securing a fifth victory in their last six meetings with Xabi Alonso's side.

It's never a good idea to pay much attention to football's annual awards ceremonies. These glorified popularity contests drag on for far too long and trying to wrap your head around the lack of logic involved in the voting process is an exercise in futility. However, it was impossible to ignore The Best FIFA Men's 11 for 2025 - because the omission of Raphinha made so little sense.

Barcelona dominated against Athletic Club on Wednesday as the La Liga leaders eased to a 5-0 win over the Basque side to book their spot in the Supercopa de Espana final. Barca boss Hansi Flick opted to start teenage star Lamine Yamal on the bench in Jeddah, but it didn't hinder the Blaugrana, who were ruthless in their semi-final showdown.