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Suárez Uncertainty Gives Trincão Space to Shine at Barcelona

Barcelona's Trincao, center, in action during the pre-season friendly match between Barcelona and Gimnastic at the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Sept.12, 2020. (AP)
Barcelona's Trincao, center, in action during the pre-season friendly match between Barcelona and Gimnastic at the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Sept.12, 2020. (AP)
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Suárez Uncertainty Gives Trincão Space to Shine at Barcelona

Barcelona's Trincao, center, in action during the pre-season friendly match between Barcelona and Gimnastic at the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Sept.12, 2020. (AP)
Barcelona's Trincao, center, in action during the pre-season friendly match between Barcelona and Gimnastic at the Johan Cruyff Stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, Sept.12, 2020. (AP)

With the future of Luis Suárez uncertain, young forward Francisco Trincão has an early chance to shine with Barcelona.

The 20-year-old Trincão just joined the team but could get some extra playing time as the club ponders what to do with Suárez, who was told by new coach Ronald Koeman that he is not in the Dutchman's plans this season.

Trincão took advantage of his first chance on the field with Barcelona by impressing fans and Koeman in a 3-1 win over Nastic in a friendly on Saturday.

“I liked how he positioned himself, sometimes coming in from the inside and sometimes from the outside,” Koeman said. “He has quality and will start adapting to the speed and rhythm of the ball. He was a great signing.”

Barcelona paid Portuguese club Braga more than 30 million euros ($35 million) in the beginning of the year to acquire Trincão on a five-year contract. He finished the season with Braga and joined Barcelona last month.

Trincão was put in a tough spot right away as he was officially introduced by the Spanish club a day after Lionel Messi announced he wanted to leave. But he showed that he has some off-the-field foot skills, too, in sidestepping questions about Messi and not making headlines.

Barcelona brought in Trincão touting him as a “talented and quick” player with tremendous potential. He has been with Portugal’s youth teams and helped the under-19 squad win the European Championship in 2018 as its top scorer.

He showed some of that talent and quickness after entering the friendly against Nastic by displaying good ball control under pressure and beating defenders. He was named by Spanish media as one of the best players in the match.

Trincão can also play on the flanks, especially through the right side, but he might face greater competition there than in the middle of the attack as Barcelona also counts on more experienced youngsters such as Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele. Martin Braithwaite, who arrived last season, is also an option for Koeman in the attack. The club is also reportedly looking at other options, with Memphis Depay and Lautaro Martínez among those rumored to join the club.

“I can play in all positions in the attack,” Trincão said. “I'm here to help any way I can.”

Trincão is expected to have his second opportunity when Barcelona takes on Girona in another friendly on Wednesday. The club’s final preparation match ahead of its Spanish league debut will be against Elche on Saturday.

Barcelona’s first league game, against Villarreal at home, is scheduled for the final weekend of the month. Its matches in the first and second rounds were postponed because of the team’s participation in the Champions League in August.

It was Barcelona’s embarrassing 8-2 loss to Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals of the Champions League that led to the arrival of Koeman and the revamping of the squad.

Messi eventually decided to stay, but Suárez was among the players who were told that they were not in the new coach’s plans. Suárez remains with the club and has been practicing normally, but he was not included in Koeman’s squad for last Saturday’s friendly. He has been linked to transfers to clubs such as Inter Milan, Juventus and Atlético Madrid.

But with lingering uncertainty over the Uruguay striker's future, Trincão will continue to have chances to impress Koeman and gain a spot on the team.

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GEA Chairman Confirms Six Kings Slam Tennis Tournament at Riyadh Season with Sinner Returning

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 12, 2026 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after winning his final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 12, 2026 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after winning his final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. (Reuters)
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GEA Chairman Confirms Six Kings Slam Tennis Tournament at Riyadh Season with Sinner Returning

Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 12, 2026 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after winning his final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. (Reuters)
Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 12, 2026 Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after winning his final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev. (Reuters)

Chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority (GEA) Turki Alalshikh confirmed on Monday that the Six Kings Slam will take place on December 27, 28 and 30 in Riyadh, as part of the seventh edition of Riyadh Season, bringing together six of the world’s leading tennis players.

The new dates allow Italy’s Jannik Sinner to return and defend his title after an injury forced him to withdraw from the event originally scheduled for October. Sinner won the previous two editions in 2024 and 2025, defeating Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz in both finals.

Joining Sinner are Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, American Taylor Fritz and Australia’s Alex de Minaur. All matches will stream live exclusively on Netflix for the second consecutive year, with subscribers able to watch at no extra cost.

The line-up holds a combined 38 Grand Slam titles, including Djokovic’s 24 and Sinner’s five. Zverev claimed the French Open and US Open titles this year, while Alcaraz won the Australian Open to become the youngest man in tennis history to complete a Career Grand Slam.

The upcoming edition will mark Fritz’s second appearance after finishing third last year, while de Minaur will make his Six Kings Slam debut after reaching a career-high World No. 5 in July. Together, the players bring a variety of playing styles to the competition.

Sports

Barca’s Big-Game Defeats Pose Familiar Questions

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
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Barca’s Big-Game Defeats Pose Familiar Questions

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick gestures during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)

After a superb start to the season Barcelona were brought crashing back down to earth by Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain last week, raising fresh doubts about the Spanish champions' ability to compete against the strongest opponents.

Hansi Flick's side have dominated in Spain over the last two seasons, winning back-to-back La Liga titles, but notably in Europe have fallen short on high-pressure nights.

The Catalan giants have played sumptuous attacking football this season and won their first 11 games across all competitions, but once the quality of their opponents rose, it was a different story.

Barca were beaten 4-2 in Paris by European champions PSG on Tuesday, showing they are still some way from matching Luis Enrique's side.

That was compounded by Sunday's painful 2-1 home defeat by Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid in La Liga, in which Barcelona's defensive frailties were laid bare again.

A draw would have been an acceptable result and maintained their six-point lead on Madrid in the top flight, but they left far too much space for Los Blancos to exploit in the final stages.

With three minutes to go, Eduardo Camavinga raced through on goal and squared for Kylian Mbappe to net his 100th Madrid goal and second of the night to snatch victory.

"In the end sometimes in the big, big games, small things are important and they decide the game and which way they end, and today that was not on our side," Flick told reporters, pledging to improve.

"We know what we have to make better. We speak about this in every training. We will do it, I'm not worried about that.

"It's a part of this game to lose also. In this week, we had two (losses) and it's too much."

However, it is a discourse which the German coach has repeated during his tenure.

"We are a young side and we have to mature," said Flick, after Inter Milan ousted Barcelona in the Champions League semi-finals in May 2025.

"We are working on it and we have to improve in defense and in other aspects."

- Lack of 'freshness' -

Despite spending good money on Anthony Gordon, Rodri and others this summer, and trying to bring in Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, Barcelona did not sign a center-back.

Instead, Flick has persisted with Gerard Martin, a converted left-back, playing alongside Pau Cubarsi.

Martin has done well, considering his technical limitations and change of position, but against the world's best strikers is clearly out of his depth.

The defender's poor clearance handed Madrid their first goal against Barca, with Mbappe gleefully capitalizing.

To Martin's credit, he did defend well to stop Jude Bellingham and Mbappe in a two-on-one situation early in the second half, which exposed a more structural problem Barca have.

Their high-line defense is easy to breach when the team's pressing is not executed perfectly, with high energy.

Flick suggested Barcelona lacked "freshness" against Madrid, after a grueling schedule, although his team had an extra day to recover midweek and the coach waited until the final minutes to introduce Gabriel Jesus and Karim Adeyemi.

Barca do have injury problems at the back, with Eric Garcia, Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen all missing the Clasico, along with midfielder Dani Olmo.

"This may be the most important point, the injuries we have," explained Flick.

Barcelona still hold a three-point lead on Madrid, third, in the title race. They are more than capable of going on another run of victories, but the weeks ahead will pose further interesting tests.

Aston Villa visit Camp Nou in the Champions League on November 3, before Barcelona head to Atletico Madrid on November 8. A month after that, Manchester City come to the Camp Nou.

Flick has been promising improvement in these type of matches for over two years -- perhaps now he will finally focus on implementing it.

Sports

Mourinho Gives Real Madrid the Answers to Barcelona Test in Return to Clasico

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho, left, shakes hands with Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho, left, shakes hands with Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
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Mourinho Gives Real Madrid the Answers to Barcelona Test in Return to Clasico

Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho, left, shakes hands with Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)
Real Madrid's head coach Jose Mourinho, left, shakes hands with Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick during a Spanish LaLiga match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP)

Real Madrid recorded just a ‌second victory in eight games against Barcelona on Sunday night, with the return of Jose Mourinho to the fixture haunting the reigning champions.

In the first Clasico of Mourinho's first spell at Real Madrid, Barcelona ripped his side to shreds in a 5-0 win at Camp Nou. A 2-1 win in the first Clasico of his second spell suggests Mourinho's Real Madrid can challenge Barcelona's recent LaLiga dominance in his first season back in Spain.

Although the chances were shared out evenly, with Barcelona racking up more shots on goal, more possession and more passes throughout the match, those statistics were not an honest reflection ‌of the game. ‌Real Madrid played as if they had the answers ‌to ⁠the test Barcelona ⁠posed.

"The lads played an extraordinary match," said Mourinho in his press conference afterwards.

"Very organized, focused, and showing the courage to play the ball out from the back against an opponent that applied a lot of pressure."

Time and again, Mourinho's side moved the ball with urgency and precision in their own half to escape Barcelona's pressing.

Fede Valverde was praised for playing through injury by Mourinho, but ⁠above all he embodied the presence of mind to identify ‌where the space was whenever the ball ‌was turned over.

The Uruguayan did so from the right-back position, despite stating in September ‌2025 that he was "not born to play as a full-back."

Valverde later denied ‌he had expressed any unwillingness to play in defense, but a number of Spanish outlets took this as a suggestion he was not pleased about doing so, and perhaps he was not on board with then-manager Xabi Alonso's style of management.

For a ‌third game in a row, the Real Madrid captain started at right-back and delivered a captain's performance. Valverde's impressive ⁠showing in his ⁠unfavored position demonstrated Mourinho not only is finding tactical solutions to get the best out of his players, but is winning over the Real Madrid dressing room.

Mourinho remarked that leaving Camp Nou just three points behind Barcelona "gives us peace of mind, and it's well deserved."

The victory over Barcelona should help to boost morale and build unity within the Real Madrid squad. More importantly, Mourinho now has evidence his methods can help return Real Madrid to the summit of Spanish football.

"If we win today but lose at El Sardinero, it counts for nothing, because Madrid isn't playing to win at the Camp Nou," Mourinho said.

"They’re playing to win the championship" — a statement that now looks closer to reality after two defeats in September had sown early doubts about Mourinho's plans.