Welcome to our round-up for the Gameweek ending 7 December 2020.
Lepers Abroad refers to the performances of ex-Newell’s players and coaches, along with well-known fans of Newell’s Old Boys, who now ply their trade outside of Argentina.
ENGLAND
Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea in the Premier League. Bielsa’s side are currently 14th in the table in what is an unpredictable season so far.
SPAIN
Lionel Messi played a full match in Barcelona’s surprise 2-1 defeat to Cádiz.
FRANCE
Cristian Battocchio came on as a 77th minute substitute in Brest’s 1-0 loss away to Bordeaux.
ITALY
Cristian Ansaldi started and played 90 minutes in Torino’s 2-1 loss to city rivals Juventus in the Derby della Mole.
Nehuén Paz was an unused substitute in Bologna’s 3-1 defeat to Inter.
NETHERLANDS
Lisandro Martínez played in two defeats for Ajax last week. First, he was a late 85th minute substitute in their 1-0 defeat to Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League. In the league, he replaced fellow Argentine Nicolás Tagliafico after 54 minutes in their 1-2 defeat to Twente.
RUSSIA
Ezequiel Ponce scored twice in Spartak Moscow’s 5-1 thrashing of Tambov.
GREECE
Daniel Mancini came on as a substitute for Aris Thessaloniki against Atromitos and provided the assist for their equaliser on 81 minutes as Sasha made it 2-2 in the Greek Premier League.
CYPRUS
Emanuel Dening scored what only turned out to be a consolation in Enosis Neon Paralimniou’s 1-5 defeat to Apollon. Dening came on as a substitute in the second-half while ex-Newell’s man Adrian Lucero started the game before being substituted off after 86 minutes.
MALTA
Federico Falcone scored the opener in Birkirkara’s 3-0 win over Tarxien Rainbows on 2 December. He played until the 70-minute mark in their 1-2 away win Senglea Athletics on 6 December.
SAUDI ARABIA
Éver Banega made his debut in the Arab Club Champions Cup, playing a full game in Al-Shabab’s 2-2 draw with Al-Ittihad. In the league on 6 December, he also played in Al-Shabab’s 2-1 away defeat to Al-Qadisiyah.
Cristian Lema didn’t make the squad as Damac beat Al Ahli 4-3.
UNITED STATES
Milton Valenzuela helped Columbus Crew to win the Eastern Conference and reach the MLS Cup Final by playing 90 minutes in their 1-0 win over New England Revolution. They’ll meet Seattle Sounders in the final on 12 December.
MEXICO
Andres Lillini’s Pumas overcame Cruz Azul in the Liga MX Playoff Semi-Finals over two legs to reach the final where they will meet Club León. Amazingly, both teams won a leg each 4-0 but the aggregate score (4-4) led to a tiebreaker and Pumas went through because they had a stronger regular season record. Lillini, who started his short playing career at Newell’s, is being called the “coach of the year” in Mexico.
CHILE
Martín Tonso came on as a 55th-minute sub in La Serena’s 1-0 win over Deportes Iquique.
Carlos Rotondi played a full match as Santiago Wanderers drew 1-1 with Coquimbo.
ECUADOR
Victor Figueroa played a full 90 minutes as Aucas were beaten 2-1 by Macará. Ex-Newell’s man Lisandro Alzugaray got the goal for Aucas.
Francisco Fydriszewski played a full 90 minutes but was on the end of a 3-1 defeat as LDU Portoviejo lost 3-1 to Guayaquil City.
Braian Rivero was on the bench as holders Independiente del Valle were eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana by Nacional on penalties. Lorenzo Faravelli started the game but was withdrawn deep into injury time. In the domestic league, Faravelli played a full game as IDV defeated the similarly named El Nacional 2-0. Rivero came on as a 72nd-minute substitute in that match.
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