Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.
La Liga was back last weekend following on from the international break, and there was no shortage of drama to speak about. Vinicius Junior continues to receive an intense and slightly uncomfortable amount attention from the media.
The Brazilian reportedly feels that Carlo Ancelotti is his only ally within the hierarchy at the club, following a week of stories about him saying that maybe the 2030 World Cup should not be hosted in Spain if it cannot improve its racism record. This comes amidst a slew of links to Saudi Arabia, and a frustrating start to the season for Real Madrid.
Jude Bellingham has accused people on social media of falsely drumming up controversy between him, Vinicius, Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo Goes – the star-studded quartet that are yet to truly click. Carlo Ancelotti did hint at the central problem on Tuesday night, although perhaps not intentionally.
The story during their 3-1 win over Stuttgart was perhaps Endrick Felipe, who scored 15 minutes into his European debut. Mbappe cut a similar figure to Cristiano Ronaldo throughout, scoring, doing little pressing, and then looking decidedly annoyed when Endrick scored instead of passing to him.
Several #RealMadrid players have come out and said that there would have been a problem if Endrick did not score when he had Vinicius right and Mbappe to the left.
Mbappe still looked like he had some choice words running through his mind when it went in.https://t.co/af0zTY3vv5
— Football España (@footballespana_) September 19, 2024
Meanwhile Barcelona thumped Girona at the weekend, winning 4-1 against a side that put four past them in both clashes last season. Everything has been going well for Hansi Flick, who has a 100% record, and Lamine Yamal leads the league for goal contributions with three goals and four assists in his five appearances. He is the flavour of the year in Spain, and even Lamine Yamal’s name has a cool story behind it.
It was somewhat soured by an injury to Dani Olmo, keeping him out for…
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