🥐 Barça up, Atleti down... 5️⃣ stories shaping Thursday

The Champions League opener leaves us with a brilliant start for FC Barcelona and a bitter setback for Atlético de Madrid . Off the pitch, Rodri puts his controversy with Valencia to bed, and Leo Messi brings Spanish football to a standstill with his imminent arrival as owner of CD Eldense.

A Barça five-star start to the Champions League

FC Barcelona kicked off their European campaign in emphatic fashion with a 5-1 win over Feyenoord . Lamine Yamal , wearing the captain's armband for the first time, led the way alongside Raphinha on a dream night for Hansi Flick's side.

The downside for the Spanish teams was experienced by Atlético de Madrid . Despite taking the lead at Anfield through Marcos Llorente from a Julián Álvarez assist, the Rojiblancos could not withstand Liverpool 's pressure and ended up losing 2-1 after goals from Szoboszlai and Mac Allister .

Rodri Hernández has sought to draw a line under the controversy sparked by his recent comments about Valencia CF . The Spain international midfielder publicly apologized, insisting that he never meant any disrespect toward the club or its supporters, and also revealed that he had already contacted Valencia captain José Luis Gayà privately.

Ferran shines for PSG and Arsenal get the job done

Elsewhere in the European matchday, Paris Saint-Germain put on a scoring masterclass with a 6-1 thrashing of Slovan Bratislava , featuring a hat-trick from Ferran Torres and a brace from Ousmane Dembélé . Meanwhile, Arsenal showed their experience to take three crucial points at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona by beating Napoli 0-1 thanks to a goal from Martin Ødegaard .

The day's biggest bombshell is happening in the offices. Lionel Messi is on the verge of completing the purchase of CD Eldense . The deal between the Argentine legend and the club from Alicante is completely agreed, with only the official signature missing to confirm his arrival in the boardroom.