A 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid still leaves Barcelona 12 points adrift in La Liga but offers plenty of memories to savourThe nets where Barcelona had scored four times, twice at the north end, twice at the south, had been unhooked and hung flat. The benches had been vacated, bottles and bits of tape lying everywhere. Around the pitch, circled by those plastic chairs, people packed away another clásico. The Santiago Bernabéu was quiet except for the lawnmower crossing the grass until it was broken by a cheer, the sound of embraces. The players were on the bus but Joan Laporta, Jordi Cruyff and Mateu Alemany were by the tunnel taking it all in when Xavi Hernández appeared.An hour after...
The forward has been in inspired form since returning to action at the club who tried their very best to get rid of himDown on the bench, Jordi Alba leaned towards to Ronald Araújo, said something cheeky and grinned. At which point, the Uruguayan, a little slow to click at first, went from huh?! to a line of his own and both of them started laughing. They covered their mouths so you couldn’t work out what it actually was but it was more fun to guess anyway, a kind of Camp Nou caption competition. Something like: “And then he only goes and says: ‘surely love is a kind of blackmail,’” perhaps. Or: “Should have gone to Spurs.”They had just gone...
Brazilian is unsuitable for celebrity clubs and philosophy sides, but Steven Gerrard could build a team around himPhilippe Coutinho has played 598 minutes for Aston Villa, in which time he has scored four goals and set up three more. Victory at Leeds on Thursday meant Villa have won three league games in a row for the first time since the beginning of last season. There is a real sense of momentum there now and it is not just about results. Coutinho, quite aside from his direct contribution, is a player of stature, the sort of figure whose very presence can persuade fans, even other players, that a club is going places. Which inevitably prompts the question: what is he doing...
Luuk De Jong is a man for the big moment as Barça’s rivals found out to their cost on SundayNico González had in his hand a piece of paper. Time was running out and unless they could do something about this – and fast – Barcelona were going to lose a Catalan derby at Cornellá for the first time in La Liga. It had taken them only 73 seconds to score one, but in 73 minutes they hadn’t got a second. Worse, Espanyol had. Sergi Darder curled in a gorgeous equaliser and then Raúl de Tomás put them ahead, meditating cross-legged on the grass ignoring the madness all around him. Xavi Hernández, though, had a plan, written down and sent...
Striker’s blockbuster title-winning goal for Manchester City stands out but 18 years among the elite tells the fuller storyFor Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo an enforced retirement because of a heart condition provoked tears on Wednesday, but friends of the 33-year-old say he has also come to feel serene that a stellar 18-year career is over.The former Barcelona forward is understood over recent days to have been zen-like in his take on his playing days ending, telling associates that “things happen in life and it is time to live”. Away from the strictures of the athlete’s diet Agüero can embrace his love of asado, the Argentine barbecue that grills choice cuts of steak, chorizo, chicken and other meat, and attend...