Weekend Highlights: Bellingham out sprints Beckham, debuts at 20 seconds & Haller's tale
Goal of the weekend
Charles De Ketelaere was paying the price for a great talent in Belgian football. After his transfer to AC Milan, he didn't produce the performances expected of him, but on loan at Atalanta, he has come alive again. At 22, he is the youngest player in Serie A history to record six goals and six assists in a single season.
His last goal so far came in the 4-1 win over Genoa at the weekend. We pick out the young Belgian's stunning turn-around shot, which put the stamp on the young Belgian's return to top form, as our goal of the weekend.
Fail of the weekend
We dare say you will never see so many insanely wasted chances in your life. Australian striker Patrick Wood was able to break a major goal drought in his Sydney FC 's match against Central Coast Marines, scoring only his second goal of the season.
He was in the best position to do so, a huge mistake by Vukovic's goalkeeper smeared Wood's ball in front of an empty net. But he missed... He can take solace in the fact that Sydney FC were already 3-0 up at that point and would go on to win the contest, but this crazy moment will probably haunt him for a long time. At least until he finally regains his footing.
Social media highlight
Slovenian club Rogaska confirmed over the weekend that there is no rule that can't be bent. The local league has determined that young players must be in the starting lineup of every team. Clubs have been fighting with the competition's management, arguing that the development of youngsters can be hampered if they are pushed into the line-up simply because they need to fill a quota and not because they are ready and good enough.
The absurdity of this obligation was shown at the weekend as 17-year-old goalkeeper Zan Lorber made his debut for Rogaska. His teammates took the ball, and after about 20 seconds they put it out of play and Lorber was replaced by the number one, 12 years older Ajdin Mulalic. The rules state that a young player must start in the starting lineup - no one has defined how long they must be on the field.
Statistic of the weekend
Jude Bellingham cost Real Madrid more than €100 million, but so far he's showing it was a good investment. With two goals he contributed to the win in the important title fight with Girona, which Real clearly dominated 4-0. With 16 goals, he tops the scorers' table, although he is a central midfielder who should not be the most frequent finisher.
A funny statistic is his comparison with another Englishman who came to Real many years ago with great fame, David Beckham. In all competitions, Bellingham has already scored the same number of goals for the Madrid club as his famous compatriot, 20. Only he did it 126 games sooner...
Story of the weekend
We can look no further than the fabulous story of Sebastien Haller. The experienced striker was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer of 2022. It was a matter of health, a matter of life, football went by the wayside. But after two operations and four rounds of chemotherapy, he returned to the pitch and is still rocking the Borussia Dortmund jersey. But Haller has written another, better chapter.
At the Africa Cup of Nations, he was the symbol of an unbreakable Ivory Coast team. The host country lost two group matches, fired its coach while the tournament was still in progress, yet made it all the way to the final. And it was there that Haller scored the winning goal. Hollywood couldn't have written this story any better...
Photo of the weekend
Bayern Munich clearly lost their weekend showdown with Leverkusen, who continue to keep their distance from the Bavarian giant at the top of the table. No one is more upset about that than Thomas Muller. The experienced all-rounder has already collected 12 Bundesliga titles with Bayern, but he still can't get enough and every loss annoys him.
After all, a video of his rather angry interview started circulating on social media right after the game. It is the picture of one of the Bavarian club's souls that we choose as the best photo of the weekend.
