Striker plays with everything he has, spiritually and physically, and has so far taken a rapid ascent in his considerable strideIf you think the pressure of a transfer to one of the world’s elite clubs – at an eventual cost potentially reaching the €100m mark – might weigh on Darwin Núñez, then you have a lot to learn about Liverpool’s new centre-forward. The Uruguayan was always ready for this. His whole – and relatively brief, to date – career in Europe has been an unequivocal line of pressure and expectation, from when the newly flush Spanish second-tier side Almería signed him for a fee north of €5.5m shortly after his 20th birthday, in 2019.That initial leap over from his first...
The winger, unbeaten against the Portuguese side in eight matches, scored one and set up another in the 3-1 victoryIn the end, it had to be him standing there before them. Four minutes remained when Luis Díaz was sent dashing way, stepped past Odisseas Vlachodimos and rolled the ball into the empty net to finally secure a victory that had looked like it might slip through Liverpool’s hands during a second half in which they had been made to suffer more than anyone expected. Released at last, he ran to the corner, leapt and screamed. In the stands, Benfica’s supporters did too, a flag pole sent flying his way.They had whistled him all game and indeed before it. Díaz stood...
The Manchester United manager continued his needless bickering with a section of the home support in his programme notes but his reasons remain unclearEnjoy the game is a phrase every football fan reads every week if they buy a match programme and bother with the manager’s notes. It is a standard greeting, an anodyne pleasantry, so of course José Mourinho, who did not get where he is today by being standard or anodyne, chose to subvert it.“I hope you enjoy the game more than some of you did against Tottenham,” was how the Manchester United manager addressed his public, continuing the needless bickering with the club’s supporters he began after the narrow league victory on Saturday.Chelsea (Nov 2014) Related: Manchester...
The Swede has gone from Benfica reserve to hot property in 18 months but his leadership and coolness under pressure marked him out from a young age and he and Eric Bailly should form a partnership reminiscent of Vidic and FerdinandWhen Luisão says that there have been times when he has mistaken Victor Lindelof for a player in his 30s, the gnarly Brazilian who has never held back in his role as the leader of Benfica’s defence is paying his young colleague the highest possible compliment. Although it could be mistaken for a dismissive observation about Lindelof’s cumbersome movement, instead it is Luisão’s way of expressing his admiration for a blossoming defender whose eerie composure explains why José Mourinho was...
At 23, the signing from Benfica is short on top-level experience but he is tipped to be Brazil’s next No1 and is comfortable with the ball at his feet – if occasionally a little overconfidentEderson made sure he left Benfica for Manchester City with a bang. In the goalkeeper’s penultimate league match for the Portuguese champions, not only did he keep his 17th clean sheet of the season, he also got an assist.A goal-kick from the 23-year-old led to Benfica’s second goal in a 5-0 defeat of Vitória Guimarães. It was a kick that found the forward Raúl Jiménez on the edge of the Vitória penalty area, the Mexican controlling it with his feet before turning it into the goal...