Chelseas goalkeeper was uneasy around a stunning penalty save but the hosts missed a golden opportunity late onThe man who can teach any bird to sing silenced a football stadium, but not for long. Instead as the final, wild, open, epic minutes went by this place was as loud as anyone could remember it, more than 40,000 people standing to applaud, almost as exhausted as the men collapsing to the floor before them. It seemed almost absurd to think then, at the end of those last seven minutes of additional time when two teams were on the edge, knowing that a win would put them through and a defeat would pretty much put them out, that this place had ever...
Jos Mourinhos squad reached the last Champions League final and going one better would make him uniqueJos Mourinho says he will not make the same mistakes at Tottenham that he made at some of his previous clubs, and though naturally he is not about to reveal what those mistakes were it is safe to assume Alexis Snchez will not be reappearing in north London any time soon.The unlikely Mourinho admission that he spent the first two days of his new job smiling may give some sort of clue. Not only must a fat new contract and players of the calibre of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to work with give him plenty to smile about, it must have entered his...
American has struggled since arriving for £58m but he made the late winner at Ajax as Chelsea defeated one of last season’s semi-finalistsThere were 86 minutes on the clock when Christian Pulisic decided it was time to silence all the noise about his slow start to life since joining Chelsea for £58m. The American winger had oozed menace after replacing Willian midway through the second half and did not look like a player struggling to cope with the unenviable weight of expectation when the opportunity arrived for him to deliver the incision missing from every other creative player on the pitch.It had been a frustrating night for the forwards on both sides. Dusan Tadic and Hakim Ziyech were ineffective for...
The former Chelsea player has the skill and the attitude to succeed at the Bernabéu even if the club is still a little infatuated with the former owner of the No 7 shirtEden Hazard’s first start for Real Madrid on Wednesday night was always likely to be a fascinating subplot for anyone who followed his progress in England.Predictably Hazard was miles off the pace in Paris. This was his first start in a proper football match since June, and his first outing in the full white-noise glare of Champions League-issue Real Madrid. Related: For decadent, deficient Real Madrid the problems start in midfield | Jonathan Wilson Related: Real Madrid relieved to hold on for nervy win after Levante fightback Continue...
The team were incapable of the basics against PSG and it is a wonder Spanish clubs have not exploited the weaknesses moreAs Thomas Meunier and Juan Bernat capered through the open savannah that archaeologists believe was once populated by the Real Madrid midfield, the mind was drawn to another Parisian night two and a half years ago, when Ángel Di María orchestrated an even more emphatic victory for Paris Saint-Germain over a Spanish side. As it turned out, that 4-0 win over Barcelona didn’t turn out particularly well for PSG but, more generally, what on earth is going on with midfields in La Liga?On a night when Atlético twice conceded goals on the break at home to Juventus, the issue...