1. Benfica’s story doesn't add up
Gianluca Prestianni behaved like a guilty man after Vinícius Júnior told referee Francois Letexier he'd been racially abused by Prestianni. Prestianni, who denies the allegations, did not appear to be outraged or insulted by the accusation. He put his shirt over his mouth and said something. Why do that unless he was trying to hide what he was saying? If he didn't use a racial slur, what did he say? Why would Vinícius and Kylian Mbappé make all this up?
Benfica and Prestianni have not been able to adequately answer any of those questions. The only logical conclusion, then, is that Prestianni said what Vinícius claimed he did. Proving guilt or innocence is probably impossible because Prestianni made sure his mouth wasn't visible. All we – and UEFA – can do is make an educated assumption based on the information available. One side of the story just makes much more sense than the other.
2. It's simple: Racism should never be excused or justified
Everyone has a right to criticize Vinícius or be annoyed by his celebrations. That's sports. But the behavior of any player should never be offered up as an explanation for racial abuse they receive. José Mourinho did it. So did Mark Clattenburg, who at least apologized. It needs to stop. These people have powerful voices in the sport. Their comments Tuesday were incredibly damaging and – intentionally or not – reinforced the idea that racism is acceptable in certain circumstances. It's not.
While Mourinho completely missed the mark with what he said, that does not mean he's an awful human being. He does, however, need to be held accountable, and there should be conversations about why his words were so problematic. Hopefully, he publicly acknowledges the mistakes he made at some point. Unsurprisingly, Bayern Munich manager Vincent Kompany was spot-on with his thoughts on everything that unfolded in Portugal. They're worth a listen.
3. It looks like PSG just had the defining week of their season
PSG were trailing RC Lens in the Ligue 1 title race when they took the field in Monaco on Tuesday. By the 27th minute of that game, they had conceded twice, had a penalty saved and lost Ousmane Dembélé to injury. Their Champions League defense was in jeopardy at the hands of another French club. Désiré Doué came on for Dembélé and took the game over, leading the way as PSG scored three unanswered goals to regain control of the tie.
Their win Saturday combined with Lens’ loss moved them back to the top of Ligue 1. Order has been restored on both fronts. The pressure was mounting, and they found a way to overcome a bad 120 minutes that was threatening to turn into a crisis. Assuming PSG go on to win Ligue 1 and reach the Champions League round of 16, Tuesday and Saturday’s results will be the decisive moments of their campaign.
4. That is who LAFC can (and should) be
LAFC only had 34.5% of the possession and a 16-13 advantage in shots in their 3-0 win over Inter Miami on Saturday. Like every other team in MLS, they were forced to mostly play on the counter, which is what they were doing under Steve Cherundolo anyway. They put twice as many shots on target and generated nearly four times as many expected goals (3.5) as the visitors (0.9) though.
With new head coach Marc Dos Santos, LAFC actually imposed their will on Inter Miami and dictated the terms of the game. That proactivity was missing far too often during Cherundolo’s tenure. It doesn’t require having a lot of the ball either. The Black and Gold will likely become more possession-based over time, but the change in mentality is already evident. That is extremely bad news for the rest of the league.
5. Michael Bradley had his team ready
The numbers are staggering, and they don't adequately explain what happened at Inter & Co Stadium. The New York Red Bulls started a 16-year-old in midfield and a 17-year-old at striker. By halftime, they had generated 3.2 expected goals and registered 15 shots. The score was 2-0, and it could easily have been 5-0. Somehow, the game ended 2-1. In Michael Bradley’s first game in charge, the Red Bulls were unrecognizable in the best way possible.
It wasn't just about the chances they created. It was the way it looked. Their press was suffocating. Every pass was decisive and incisive. It seemed like this group – who have little or no experience playing with one another – had been together for years. Bradley deserves a lot of credit for that. He was brought in to transform this team and may have done so much quicker than anyone expected.