Messi is Benjamin Button & Ronaldo is rusty: What we've learned so far from football's big post-coronavirus restart

Football is back with a vengeance across Europe's big leagues and there's the prospect of much, much more to come. But what have we learned so far from the returns of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Co?

Messi picks up where he left off 

The return of current Ballon d'Or holder Lionel Messi has been accompanied by a fresh-faced new look for the little Barcelona magician.

Gone is the bushy pre-lockdown beard and close-cut hairstyle, and in their place a throwback look reminiscent of when a young Messi was first marking himself out as one of the game's future all-time greats.

Such is Messi's remarkable facial transformation that some fans have been pondering whether the star, who will soon turn 33, might in fact be ageing backwards, just like literary and film character Benjamin Button.

On the pitch though, Messi's return for Barcelona against Mallorca at the weekend was very much a case of business as usual.

The La Liga leaders romped to a 4-0 away win with skipper Messi getting the fourth in injury time after laying on two assists.

The strike was a landmark one for Messi as he ensured he reached the 20-goal mark in La Liga for an astonishing 12th season in a row – a record for the Spanish top flight. 

La Liga bosses may want to reconsider their security arrangements for behind-closed-doors matches, however, after one fan desperate for a selfie with Messi evaded checks and charged onto the pitch before eventually being apprehended just short of his target. 

The young fanatic will reportedly face criminal charges for his troubles, although he is said to have at least been consoled by the fact that he gained 200 followers on social media for the stunt. 

Elsewhere in La Liga over the weekend there appeared confirmation that it will effectively be a two-horse race for the title as Real Madrid picked up a 3-1 win in their comeback game against lowly Eibar.

The damage was done in the first half at Estadio Alfredo di Stefano – the training ground venue where Real are playing while the Bernabeu is renovated – thanks to goals from Toni Kroos, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo.

The Brazilian marked his strike by taking a knee and raising his fist in support of the Black Lives Matter protests.

While Eibar pulled a goal back in the second half, giving cause for Real boss Zinedine Zidane to fume, his team ultimately picked up a comfortable win in what was the Frenchman's 200th game in charge of Los Blancos. 

They moved back to within two points of Barcelona at the top of the table. 

Elsewhere, struggling city rivals Atletico Madrid were held 1-1 away at Athletic Bilbao, their 13th draw of the season and a new (and unwanted) club record.

Diego Simeone's men are still in Europe after dumping out Champions League holders Liverpool just before the break, but face a scrap to get into the automatic spots for next season's competiton as they lie sixth in the La Liga standings, one point outside the top four. 

Rusty Ronaldo? 

Over in Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo had looked for all the world like he would hit the ground running on his return to action, having showed off ample evidence of his home workout routines to his army of social media followers during a quarantine largely spent back home in Portugal.

But those appearances were deceptive as CR7 suffered a game to forget in Juventus' Coppa Italia semi-final second leg against AC Milan in Turin on Friday night.

The normally prolific Portuguese spurned a 15th-minute penalty, firing the ball against the post and having a largely unremarkable game as Juve scraped into the final on away goals after the game ended 0-0, despite Milan being down to 10-men for most of the match following Ante Rebic's straight record for a horror kung-fu kick on right-back Danilo. 

Ronaldo's performance in particular caught the eye on social media, with some accusing the star number seven of looking "rusty" on his return. 

The 35-year-old will quickly have time to make amends, however, as Juve face Napoli in the Coppa Italia final in Rome on Wednesday, after Gennaro Gattuso's men drew 1-1 with Inter Milan in their second leg, moving into the final 2-1 on aggregate. 

Bayern machine marches on 

The German Bundesliga did, of course, lead the way for the rest as it made a return several weekes before its European counterparts.

What we've seen so far since the Bundesliga bounce-back is that the destination of the title is essentially a formality, with Bayern Munich needing just two wins from their remaining four games to clinch an eighth consecutive crown. 

Bayern have won six from six since the restart, and edged past Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday thanks to a late winner from Leon Goretzka. 

Nearest challengers Borussia Dortmund sneaked past Dusseldorf thanks to a late, late goal from teenage hitman Erling Haaland, but with seven points separating them from Bayern, Dortmund are effectively aiming to keep second place from RB Leipzig, over whom they have a four-point cushion.

With Bayern looking ominous domestically, they will also been among the favorites when Champions League football eventually resumes in August.

Premier League Project Restart  

Joining the big names across the channel, the English Premier League finally gets its restart underway this week when Aston Villa host Sheffield United and Manchester City meet Arsenal on Wednesday. 

After that it's all systems go as the league finishes its remaining games in a hurry – but as elsewhere in Europe, all behind closed with careful Covid-19 prevention measures. 

READ MORE: 'It's a FARCE': Fans accuse Premier League of GREED as restart to continue despite star testing Covid positive after warm-up game 

One tasty tie fast approaching sees Jose Mourinho's Tottenham host Manchester United on Friday night, with the Portuguese apparently already starting the mind games against his former club and current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Champions-elect Liverpool return in the Merseyside derby at Everton on Sunday, knowing that they could seal the title then if Manchester City lose to Arsenal in their opener.

The celebrations will be without the usual pomp and ceremony, of course, but will at least bring to an end 30 years of title hurt for the Anfield club – albeit in somewhat bizarre circumstances.