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The Euro Preview: Real Madrid roll on, VAR takes center stage in Bundesliga and Serie A

By Clemente Lisi

MADRID, SPAIN - AUGUST 23: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid CF looks on during the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy match between Real Madrid CF and ACF Fiorentina at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on August 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)
MADRID, SPAIN - AUGUST 23: Toni Kroos of Real Madrid CF looks on during the Santiago Bernabeu Trophy match between Real Madrid CF and ACF Fiorentina at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on August 23, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images) /
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The season may be just a week old, but controversy regarding the doling out of red cards and use of VAR has already become a major talking point.

La Liga

The Real Madrid juggernaut continues Sunday when the defending Spanish champions host Valencia a week after clobbering Deportivo La Coruna 3-0. Despite not having Cristiano Ronaldo in the lineup after the Portuguese star was slapped with a five-game ban for shoving a referee in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, Real Madrid again showed why they are the best team in the world.

Real have such a deep roster that goals from Gareth Bale, Casemiro and Toni Kroos were all the team needed to start the season with a win. After the game, Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos did some smack talking, saying not everyone is happy the back-to-back Champions League winners are doing well and that referees in Spain like to target him.

“We can all talk freely,” Ramos told reporters after Sunday’s game, in which he was sent off after receiving a second yellow card. “Not everybody likes that we are doing well, but we sleep fine every night … It was most important to being with a win, but when you end up off the pitch after a harsh decision with the second yellow.”

As a result, Ramos, who has a total of 23 career red cards, became the most sent-off player in La Liga’s history.

At the same time, Barcelona, 2-0 winners versus Real Betis in their league opener, play at Alaves on Saturday as the Catalans try to keep up with their rivals. Barcelona’s home game was an emotional one following last week’s terror attack that killed 14 and injured over 100 others. A crowd of just 56,480 attended the match at the 99,000-seat Camp Nou after the club granted the request of fans to return tickets in the wake of the attack.

Lionel Messi will be searching for his first goal of the season after hitting the woodwork in each half versus Real Betis while also shouldering the bigger burden of the attack following the absence of Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta.

In other games of note: Villarreal travel to Real Sociedad on Friday, while Las Palmas hosts Atletico Madrid the following day.

Bundesliga

The same VAR technology that made the recent Confederations Cup maddening is now also being used in Germany’s top flight. The use of video replay technology helped Bayern Munich win their season-opener 3-1 against Bayer Leverkusen after the defending champions were awarded a penalty after the play was reviewed. Bayern play on the road this Saturday against a Werder Bremen side that has seen better days.

Borrusia Dortmund, meanwhile, host Hertha Berlin with American striker Christian Pulisic in top form. A goal and an assist from Pulisic in the season opener helped his side, coached by new manager Peter Bosz, defeat Wolfsburg 3-0. A modest Pulisic joked that he would only grade his goal a “B.”

“I think I just got the ball at my feet and I kind of just saw an opening, so I just went for it and aimed for the back post and luckily it went in,” he told reporters after the game.

Also this weekend: Bayer Leverkusen host Hoffenheim on Saturday, while RB Leipzig are at home Sunday versus SC Freiberg.

Next: The 20 biggest egos in soccer

Serie A

Juventus continue to dominate in Italy as the defending champions defeated Cagliari 3-0 at home. The Old Lady travels to Genoa, where the team lost last year, for the second game of the season on Saturday.

For a team often accused of getting favorable calls, the penalty kick whistled against them when they were up 1-0 through the use of VAR was widely seen as a refreshing change. Nonetheless, Diego Farias failed to convert from the spot after goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made the save.

Meanwhile, Napoli were 3-1 winners against Hellas Verona in their opener and host Atalanta this Sunday. The victory prompted Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne, in an interview with the club’s YouTube channel, to say: “We have to keep going because we know it’s only the beginning, the league is long so we all have to work together to reach big objectives.”

The two Milan sides, AC Milan and Inter Milan, also started the season with wins. Inter Milan have the tougher assignment this weekend, traveling to the capitol to play Roma on Saturday, while AC Milan host Cagliari the next day.

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