By Tim Stannard

Real Madrid at bottom of Champions League group after calamitous campaign continues 

A series a heinous crimes was committed on the pitch involving a load of Belgians at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday, so it's only apt that Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot be involved in the matter.

Madrid had another Champions League misfire to leave the team at the bottom of their group with just the one point from two games after a 2-2 draw against visiting Club Brugge from Belgium. 

Two players in particular are under a great deal of scrutiny in Wednesday's wailing papers in Madrid - Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard. 

A flailing performance from the goalkeeper against admittedly unorthodox attacking by Emmanuel Dennis continues to see Courtois under fire from critics - and Madrid fans in the stadium - for both being leaky and not being Keylor Navas. 

Courtois was taken off at halftime in the game either through being unwell or being rescued by Coach Zizou. Pick your choice there. 

The Champions League game also saw another blank space match from Hazard up front with further calls for patience being needed for the $130 million man who has delivered next to nothing since arriving from Chelsea over the summer. 

It's not often that Belgians make the news, but a couple are the talk of town in the world of Madrid, a club very much stuck in second gear. 

Barca looking to avoid getting Inter trouble in Camp Nou

To be fair, it could be worse for Real Madrid. At least the team is top of La Liga. And they are not Tottenham, who were the biggest victims of Tuesday's Champions League action with a rather disappointing 7-2 home defeat against Bayern Munich. 

Barcelona will probably be sweating the most in Wednesday's action as the Serie A league leaders, Inter, are visiting the Camp Nou. Barca will at least have Lionel Messi back in the starting lineup. 

Sports Burst's live show will be in double action on Wednesday as it looks ahead to the day's matches at 12PM ET and then goes into crisis / panic mode at 5PM ET. Just head to our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page. 

Speaking of crisis and Boca Juniors now have an uncomfortable three weeks ahead of them to mull over a 2-0 loss to River Plate in El Monumental in the Copa Libertadores semifinal first leg. However, the deficit is very doable in the closing up department when the tournament returns after the international break. 

The second semifinal matchup is live, live, live on beIN SPORTS today from 8PM ET and it is an all-Brazilian affair between Gremio and Flamengo.

Eagles lose out to France as Americans run quickly 

Time to talk USA, apple pie, John Denver and freedom. Although Sports Burst is not sure that rugby chat is UnAmerican seeing as the sport is just a poor version of football largely without brain-threatening tackles. And no one wants to see that. 

Team USA was in action in the Rugby World Cup in Japan the wee small hours of Wednesday morning and lost out to France by 33-9 in a result that can be labeled as 'could have been worse'. The loss leaves The Eagles at the bottom of their qualifying group with 0 from 2.  

Better luck for the US in running quickly, a traditionally strong pursuit for the nation. 

Noah Lyles completed a sprint double for the US in Track and Field World Championships in Doha, Qatar with a victory in the 200m to add to Christian Coleman's win in the 100m. There is more chance for gold in today's finals in the women's 200 meters and the men's 110 meter hurdles. The US currently leads the medal table with seven golds. 

In baseball, the Washington Nationals won a tense wildcard game against the Milwaukee Brewers to reach the MLB playoffs. The final wildcard matchup today sees the Tampa Bay Rays at the Oakland Athletics.