Julian Alvarez was entirely left out of the Atletico Madrid squad for their opening La Liga fixture against Malaga on Wednesday. The high-profile omission comes amid intense speculation linking the Argentine with a move to Barcelona, despite Diego Simeone insisting the forward simply needs more time to train following his recent international commitments with Argentina.
Fulham forfeited their post-match penalty shootout against Malaga in the Costa del Sol Trophy after a 2-2 draw at La Rosaleda. The Premier League side cited contractual terms and urgent flight arrangements for their decision to leave the pitch without taking a single penalty, handing the Spanish outfit the trophy in front of 17,179 supporters.