Spanish Paper Roundup: Messi's Courtois hoodoo, Arthur close to Barca, Real's turnaround
The really shocking stat, however, is that he has also not netted against Thibaut in a massive eight games. Remember, the Belgian used to play for Atletico Madrid back in the day, with the Colchoneros travelling to the Camp Nou to win the 2014 Liga title with a 1-0 result.
The big surprise coming from Sport is that Ernesto Valverde is considering a big change at the back: he wants to line up Aleix Vidal on the right. The idea is that he would be a faster option than many, and could link up with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez more easily than others.
Where would that leave Sergi Roberto, however?
Mundo Deportivo, for their part, have the Cules travelling to Brazil to finalize a deal with Gremio for midfielder Arthur, for which Barca are ready to invest €30 million.
Chelsea’s optimism is also reported, with the Blues being quoted as saying that the Blaugrana “are not invincible.” Still, Antonio Conte admitted in a press conference last night that Barca were favourites over the Blues.
“Messi is the best player in the world, he can make the difference at any time in a game. We’ll have to play a perfect game. On paper, they are the favourites because they are one of the best teams in the world.”
Marca, for their part, are talking about how Real Madrid finally look to be turning their season around: they are coming off an impressive 3-1 win over PSG, and also defeated Real Betis 5-3 thanks to a special Asensio performance.
The attacking midfielder himself is quoted as claiming that the Merengues have turned the corner:
"In the last few matches, I think there has been an improvement, sincerely.
"I think we have entered into a good dynamic that makes us optimistic about what is still to come."
AS, for their part, are worried about the upcoming Champions League return game at the Parc des Princes, with either Nacho or Theo Hernandez being lined up to replace the Brazilian, who is expected by some to not be able to return inside a fortnight. He was carted off on 28 minutes in the Betis game.