Chelsea’s manager set up his team in such a way as to give Porto no hope and can now picture a Champions League triumphAnd so the Tuchel revolution roars on. In a manner of speaking. The second-best thing anyone could say about the second leg of Chelsea’s 2-1 aggregate defeat of Porto in Seville was that it was, on balance, an act of cardiovascular exercise. Everyone involved burned some calories.The best thing – arguably the only thing – is that Chelsea cruised through without a scratch and will now take their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League, setting up a mouthwatering denouement to their own peculiar season of two halves. Related: Chelsea see off Porto despite Mehdi Taremi’s...
In the first of a series of columns, the World Cup-winning Germany captain argues for an expanded league which includes clubs from across the continentFootball has changed for the better. In the 1980s, it was open season on artists like Diego Maradona, with foul specialists sent in to stop him. You can watch the clips on YouTube, and be horrified. The end, back then, justified all means.Today, tripping and brutal tackles are heavily penalised, and such fouls have all but disappeared. The international football community agreed on the stricter approach in a transparent process. Players must now play fair, and fouls are seen as a last resort. These days, the end is justified by the means. For this development, from...
Elegant German midfielder revelled in the space and time he was afforded by a Liverpool who are down but certainly not outWith 35 minutes gone at the Estadio Alfredo di Stéfano, Toni Kroos was yet to misplace a pass, or indeed, break into a jog. He looked fresh. He looked unhurried. At times he seemed to be carrying his own respectful green space around the pitch with him, ringed by discrete royal protection, like Edward VIII having a game of golf.With 36 minutes gone Kroos finally missed his mark. Unfortunately for Liverpool his diagonal pass was met with a terrible defensive header by Trent Alexander-Arnold, and the ball nodded straight to Marco Asensio, who bundled it past Alisson to put...
Dortmund forward made a telling intervention but, even if Man City did want to sign him, is he Pep Guardiola’s kind of player?Erling Haaland’s big moment arrived on 84 minutes: Europe’s hottest young talent dropped into a pocket of space and steered a cute round-the corner pass into Marco Reus. It splayed Manchester City’s defence and Borussia Dortmund’s captain beat Ederson for a precious away goal.Haaland had shown the kind of cute play Pep Guardiola schools his team in. Yet this was a rare chance for the 20-year-old to shine as City squeezed his supply-line for most of the contest. Instead they were a blue blur of creativity throughout and, after Phil Foden struck a late winner, Haaland may have...
Should Mauricio Pochettino indulge the mercurial Brazilian in the perennial chokers’ quarter-final against Bayern Munich?The same procedure as last year? The same procedure as every year. But for how long? At some point, Paris Saint-Germain will win the Champions League and the world will be able to stop wondering if this could finally be their season. And so we go through the familiar rigmarole and ask, could this be it? Could the stars have aligned at last? Could PSG finally have found the right balance of coach and stellar players?Certainly the 4-1 victory at Barcelona in the last 16, arguably their best performance in the Champions League, suggested they could. At which point the caveats immediately kick in. This is...