The draw for the group stages of the 2022-23 Champions League has thrown up major talking points with Robert Lewandowski and Erling Haaland set for reunions with their former employers.
Lewandowski's Barcelona will face Bayern Munich, while Haaland returns to Borussia Dortmund now donning the shirt of Manchester City.
Having scored 344 goals for Bayern, with whom he won eight consecutive Bundesliga titles and the Champions League in 2019-20, the German giants will be fearful of the threat Lewandowski will pose.
Players coming toe-to-toe with their former clubs is nothing new and Stats Perform has selected five memorable occasions from years gone by.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Having left Manchester United in 2009, Cristiano Ronaldo faced off against the Red Devils for the first time in the first knockout round of the 2012-13 Champions League, scoring in both legs.
Five years later, in the 2018-19 group stages of the competition, Ronaldo this time played against United for Juventus, scoring in a 2-1 defeat in Turin.
During his illustrious career, Ronaldo also went up against Sporting CP, the club where he started his career, scoring three goals in four matches.
Luis Figo
Luis Figo's controversial move from Barcelona to Real Madrid in 2000 is now the focus of a Netflix documentary and, to this day, still stands as one of the most shocking transfers in football history.
Two years later, in November 2002, Figo returned to Camp Nou for the second time and received a fiery reception from the home supporters, who threw numerous objects towards the Portuguese star. Most notable was a pig's head.
Figo spent five years in the Spanish capital, winning LaLiga twice and the Champions League in 2001-02.
Robin van Persie
Signed as a youngster by Arsenal, Robin van Persie grew to become one of the greatest players in the Arsene Wenger era and captained the side from 2011 after Cesc Fabregas' move to Barcelona.
A move to Manchester United came just a year later, however, with the Dutch striker going on to score home and away against the Gunners, celebrating at Old Trafford after abuse from the visiting fans.
The biggest pain he inflicted on Arsenal came in the Premier League. United won the title following his signing, with the Arsenal squad giving them a guard of honour at the end of the campaign.
James Rodriguez
Signed by Real Madrid after starring at the 2014 World Cup, the Colombian's stint in the Spanish capital was not as he would have hoped. He became an expendable asset, which saw him sent to Bayern Munich for two years in 2017.
In the semi-finals of the 2017-18 Champions League, the loanee faced his parent club and scored in a 2-2 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu, with there being no clause preventing him from featuring in the game.
Bayern lost 4-3 on aggregate, however, with Madrid going on to win the title that season.
Robert Lewandowski
Facing familiar opposition is nothing new for Lewandowski, who had to do it time and time again during his spell with Bayern Munich.
The Poland international was devastating against Borussia Dortmund for Bayern, scoring 27 goals in 26 games. That included two hat-tricks in the Bundesliga, one of which came in a 6-0 demolition in the 2017-18 season.
New York Red Bulls v Vancouver Whitecaps: Facing Eastern Conference teams ‘like going to the casino’
Vanni Sartini is anticipating a tight encounter when his Vancouver Whitecaps team face the New York Red Bulls.
Vancouver have enjoyed a fine start to the MLS season and sit second in the Western Conference.
The Red Bulls, meanwhile, are in second place in the East.
This game will be the first meeting of the teams since 2019, and Sartini joked that facing sides from a different Conference is akin to a trip to a casino.
He said: “It’s going to be hard. It’s like going to the casino when you play the Eastern teams – you never know!
“Maybe you’ll face the team in last, the team that’s in first place. Unfortunately this season we’re going to play the Red Bulls, who are doing very well.”
Explaining what he expects to see from the Red Bulls, Sartini added: “They’re a team with a very distinct and particular style of play, like we have, to be honest.
“We need to be very intense, because that’s what they are, they are very intense in pressing, counter-pressing, counter-attacks and we need to be very well organised. It’s a game that will be decided in the second half, it’s going to be tight until the end – that’s what I feel.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
New York Red Bulls – Lewis Morgan
Morgan is enjoying a fine campaign, and he leads the Red Bulls’ scoring efforts with six goals in MLS.
Vancouver Whitecaps – Brian White
White joined the ‘Caps from the Red Bulls in 2021. He has scored four goals in MLS this season, making him Vancouver’s leading scorer.
MATCH PREDICTION: NEW YORK RED BULLS WIN
Ryan Gauld and White have each contributed to at least one goal in their last five MLS appearances, equalling the longest streak in Whitecaps’ history. Prior to them, only three players in team history had recorded a goal contribution in five straight matches.
With 16 points through eight matches, the Whitecaps are off to the joint-best eight-match start in club history (also 2015). Vancouver have never had more than 17 points (2012) after nine matches of a season before.
The Red Bulls have lost only one of their first nine matches this season (W4 D4), the second time in club history they have had fewer than two losses at this stage of a season, along with their Supporters’ Shield winning 2015 campaign (also W4 D4 L1).
Six of the 12 all-time meetings between the Red Bulls and Whitecaps have been drawn (Whitecaps W4, Red Bulls W2), but New York are anticipated to win this one.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
NYRB – 48.9%
Vancouver Whitecaps – 23.3%
Draw – 27.8%
Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid: Los Blancos edge closer to LaLiga title with win
Arda Guler scored in the first half to earn a second-string Real Madrid side a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Friday, moving the LaLiga leaders a step closer to a record-extending 36th Spanish title.
With five games remaining, Madrid climbed to 84 points and extended their lead to 14 points over second-placed Barcelona, who have a game in hand and host Valencia on Monday.
Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti rested several key players ahead of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but his side did just enough to secure the three points.
The winner came from 19-year-old Turkish midfielder Guler, making his first start for Madrid after signing from Fenerbahce, when he turned home Dani Carvajal's cross in the 29th minute.
Brazil legend Marta to retire from international football
Brazil star Marta has announced she will retire from international football at the end of 2024.
The 38-year-old is the all-time highest scorer for Brazil, netting 116 goals in 175 matches for the national team.
She is also the top-scorer in the Women’s World Cup with 17 goals, finishing as a runner-up in 2007 when Brazil lost in the final to Germany.
The forward has won three Copa America Femenina titles and was part of the Brazil team that won silver medals at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.
Marta could make her sixth appearance for Brazil at this year's Games if she is selected in the squad at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
"If I go to the Olympics, I will enjoy every moment, because, regardless of whether I go to the Olympics or not, this is my last year with the national team," Marta told CNN in an interview on Thursday.
"There will be no more Marta from 2025 in the national team as an athlete.
"I am very calm about this because I see with great optimism this development that we are having in relation to young athletes."
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