Barca show that there is life after Messi with Inter victory 

Thursday's Clasico swing-o-meter of stress is now very much pinging in the direction of Real Madrid fans having three sleepless nights ahead of Sunday's El Clasico. 

The combination of Real Madrid continuing to 'underperform' - the politest word possible for the team's current form - and Barcelona's comfortable victory against Inter on Wednesday sees those frowns, getting...frownier. 

The clash at the Camp Nou was seen as a lifeline for Real Madrid fans that Barcelona would not be able to deliver the goods, with Lionel Messi in the stands with his injured arm snugly wrapped up.

However, Barca coped admirably against opponents that are certainly a sterner test than Real Madrid at the moment and came through with a 2-0 win. 

'Bravo Barca!' says the front cover of local sports paper Mundo Deportivo, while Sport beamed over a 'present for Messi'. 

However, Madrid-based AS is pursuing an angle that goes against the narrative that Julen Lopetegui will be sacked if Real Madrid loses Sunday's El Clasico. 

The players very much seem to be behind the manager, which could be a key factor when Florentino Perez has to decide whether to stick or twist with the Spanish boss. 

Get all the latest news on El Clasico from the live version of Sports Burst on our beIN SPORTS Facebook page at 12PM ET / 9AM PT or simply watch back at your leisure. 

PSG slips towards the crisis club 

Bayern Munich has played its way out of the CRISIS! club with a couple of wins in the Bundesliga and the Champions League. So, there's room for a replacement. PSG, anyone?

While Neymar and co and cruising beautifully in Ligue 1 having won 10 from 10 to sit eight points clear at the top of the table, that's not where the problem lies for PSG. It's the Champions League. Again. 

A good $350 million has been spent on Neymar and Kylian Mbappe by the club to win the Champions League - or at least get close. However, this season the French side might be even further away. 

A 2-2 draw at home to Napoli - as well as the Match Day 1 defeat to Liverpool - sees PSG in danger of not getting out of an admittedly tricky group and on the end of some harsh criticism on Thursday. Thursday's edition of L'Equipe spoke of a feeling of "helplessness". 

The result makes Sunday's Le Classique clash against Marseille even more spicy, with PSG's rival's in with a chance of making a bad week even worse.

That game is live on beIN SPORTS at 3:30PM ET / 12:30PM PT. 

The never-ending Europa League Odyssey continues 

Bi-weekly Europa League moan from Sports Burst. Part 902. 

Let's just say that the only reason the people of the UK voted for Brexit was the false assumption that it would not have to participate in the Europa League any more. 

Well, it's Match Day 3 in the world's favorite competition between Europe's best sixth-placed teams, and there are 24 matches being played today across 12 different groups. Milan against Betis is probably the best of the bunch followed by Sporting CP hosting a very much on-fire Arsenal. 

Marseille against Lazio might not be too bad. Chelsea's clash against Belarus outfit BATE has Eden Hazard once again pulling the "nope, not playing in that one" card with the Belgian complaining of back pain this time out. 

The Sports Burst favorite of the competition, F91 Dudelange of Luxembourg is in action against Olympiakos. 

The best of the action will be on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT, your home for the beautiful game. 

Belgium officially the best team in the world 

Time for the new FIFA rankings! 

And it's a bit of a weird one. Despite being very recent World Cup winners, France is no longer the best side on the planet. Nope, it's Belgium who were knocked out in the semifinals in Russia. 

The two teams were tied at the top in the last standings published, but the recent round of Nations League matches has given Belgium the edge. England has moved into the Top 5 while Argentina and Germany slip down into 12th and 14th respectively. 

Mexico is in 16th spot, the USA in 23rd while the Turks and Caicos Islands continue to prop up the bottom of the rankings.