Thursday reaction to night before as Barca and Madrid both lose 

Confused and vaguely traumatized Barcelona and Real Madrid fans have been waking up on Thursday in various places on the planet thinking 'what-with-the-what-now?' after both teams contrived to lose in La Liga on Wednesday. 

While Real Madrid's 3-0 defeat to Sevilla was more predictable - the side's record in the Sanchez Pizjuan has always been spotty - Barcelona's defeat to the previously bottom-of-the-table Leganes was particularly embarrassing for the reigning league champions. 

That's especially the case as it followed the weekend's 2-2 home draw against Girona to see five points dropped in two matches. 

The reaction in Thursday's press in Spain has been of the alarm bells nature although Marca did have the decency to praise both Leganes and Sevilla as 'Giants' for their performances. 

Barcelona-based Sport played a race-to-the-bottom game with the front cover declaring a 'bad Barca' and 'worse Madrid' - a debatable ranking. Another Barca-leaning paper, Mundo Deportivo, went for the cheeky by thanking Real Madrid for covering up Barca's defeat with something just as dramatic. 

Be sure that the day-after-the-night-before will be a hot topic on the XTRA, as well as Saturday's Madrid derby at 7PM ET / 4PM PT 

Alaves looks to join Barca and Madrid at top table 

La Liga might actually be getting a little bit weirder today with Barcelona and Real Madrid being joined by a third side, tied on points at the top-of-the-table. 

That team could be the Alaves, a modestly-sized outfit on a remarkable streak under Coach Abelardo Fernandez. A win in a home clash against Getafe will do the job and that game is live on beIN SPORTS ESPANOL at 2PM ET / 11AM PT. 

Two other matches in La Liga are taking place today with Girona hosting Betis following the Alaves clash - live on beIN SPORTS - and Valladolid taking on Levante and looking for a win under new owner, Ronaldo the First. 

Over in Italy, and there is a another huge chance for Milan to throw away a lead / lose and disappoint already irate fans with an away game at Empoli in Serie A. Anything other than a win will leave Milan dangerously close to the relegation zone. 

The XTRA is the place to be for all the best action from the day - 7PM ET / 4PM PT. 

Instagram to blame for another Pogba v Mourinho spat 

See? This whole internet craze is never going to end well. 

The Guardian is reporting that the very viral and much interpreted "heated" exchange between Paul Pogba and Jose Mourinho at Manchester United's training session on Wednesday was over an Instagram posting from the Frenchman. 

Ok. It's Kindergarten stuff, but this is how it apparently went down. 

Pogba, who was not involved in the League Cup Derby defeat on Tuesday, posted a video of himself in jovial mood watching the game from the stands. That post hit the web after the defeat - bad timing apparently - but that was due to a wifi issue as the clip was recorded during the match. Hence the drama. Still with us?

A stark warning that if social media can help bring down a football club - as it is currently doing with Manchester United - then it can certainly bring about the end of civilization. Happy thoughts! 

Cristiano Ronaldo cleared old trafford showpiece 

The suits at UEFA have been busy bees on Thursday with three big items on the group’s agenda aside from breakfast, second breakfast, brunch and lunch. The first is to choose the hosts of the 2024 European Championships. The final two making their final presentations and battling through the ‘Chopped’-style contest to create a pasta dish in six minutes are Turkey and Germany.

Europe’s governing body also announced that it will be introducing VAR to the Champions League from next season onwards and that the flawless system will be implemented for the 2020 European Championships.

And finally, Cristiano Ronaldo will get his homecoming to Manchester United after all in the Champions League after the Juventus hair-tugger was only given a single match suspension for his red card last week against Valencia. However, CR7 will be missing the upcoming match-up against Young Boys.