MATCH! 18 October 2022

LIGUE 1 Neymar and Lionel Messi are best mates off the pitch, so they spend a lot of time plotting their trick or treats! We can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeves this Halloween, but you can be sure it involves some terrifying Neymar tekkers, Messi magic and potentially some help from third wheel Mbappe! SERIE A Lazio striker Ciro Immobile has been feeding off mad midfielder Milinkovic-Savic’s scraps this season – like a hungry zombie devouring a brain! Some other Serie A Frankenstein formulas are Roma’s little-and-large Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham, and AC Milan’s young-and-old Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud! PREMIER LEAGUE Tottenham’s Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son are statistically the scariest Prem partnership in history, but Prem defenders need to beware of a new…

BAYERN MUNICH 3-2 BARCELONA MAY 21, 2015 Despite being 2-1 up after 29 minutes, Barcelona still managed to lose 3-2 at the Allianz Arena due to second-half goals from Thomas Muller and Robert Lewandowski! The saving grace for Barca fans was that they’d won the first leg 3-0 the week before, so they still progressed to the next round! BARCELONA 2-8 BAYERN MUNICH AUGUST 14, 2020 One of the biggest CL shocks in recent years was Barca’s humiliating collap seat the Nou Camp in 2020! They conceded four goals in each half, with the final two scored by Philippe Coutinho–just a year after he’d joined Bayern on loan from Barca. Ouch! BARCELONA 0-3 BAY ERN MUNICH SEPTEMBER 14, 2021 Another miserable home display from Barca saw them lose in last…

THE CURSE! Despite winning the Women’s Super League three seasons in a row – and five times in the last eight years – Chelsea Women have NEVER got their hands on the UEFA Champions League trophy. The closest they came was in 2020-21 when they reached the final, but Spanish giants Barcelona outplayed them and won 4-0! THE CULPRITS? So…who cast the wicked spell on The Blues? MATCH has a sneaky suspicion it might have been their London rivals Arsenal, who are the only Women’s Super League side to have won the elite European competition, back in 2007. Could it be that they wanted to remain the only WSL winners or do you have another theory, readers? PEAK POWERS! Last season the curse might have reached the peak of its…

There is a kid. Let’s call him Charlie. On the outside he looks like every other football-mad boy of his age. But he isn’t… A story of hope and resilience, this gentle, inspiring picture book tells the tale of Charlie, a little boy who was taken into care when he was very small. For more information, please visit www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens CLOSING DATE: NOV. 18 10 PRIZES!…

Want to know why octopuses can’t play football? And how to play the game across multiple dimensions? How about learning why Henry VIII banned it? Whether you love table football, back garden ball, only enjoy the game from your sofa or would sooner swim with sharks than play it, if you love to laugh–then this is the book for you! CLOSING DATE: NOV. 18 10 PRIZES! For more information, please visit www.bloomsbury.com/uk/childrens HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘WIN’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full T&Cs are available online.…

HEADING BRUNO PETKOVIC STRIKER ★ DINAMO ZAGREB MATCH would need a ladder or stilts to have any chance of beating the 6ft 4in Croatia striker in the air! Even then, he’d probably just shove us over with his super strength! VIRGIL VAN DIJK CENTRE-BACK ★ LIVERPOOL Van Dijk jumps like he’s on a trampoline and has a forehead which must be made of bricks! KALIDOU KOULIBALY CENTRE-BACK ★ CHELSEA His epic nickname is “The Wall” – just not the type of one you can jump over if you lose your footy! BRAIN LIONEL MESSI FORWARD ★ PSG If there are hungry zombies reading this, we reckon Messi must have the juiciest footy brain of all! Sorry Leo, but we’re sure you’ll figure a way to escape them with your intelligence!…