We select a few contenders for the Premier League’s signing of the season – and offer you the chance to have your sayGiven what happened to him last summer, Christian Eriksen signing for anyone this season would have merited a place in this season’s list, but in Brentford the recuperating Eriksen found a perfect fit. Thomas Frank’s progressive side always looked too good to go down in their first top-flight campaign since 1947 but some lean runs of form caused sporadic alarm. Eriksen’s arrival on a short-term deal in January, a little more than six months after his cardiac arrest during Euro 2020, did much to assuage those fears, providing that extra creative touch in midfield to keep opponents on...
While Harry Kane and Son Heung-min impressed against Newcastle, they could do with Eriksen’s guile in midfield“I am enjoying watching the team,” wrote Antonio Conte in his pre-match notes. It would have been somewhat of a surprise if the Tottenham manager felt the same after 40 minutes of this encounter.Despite dominating the opening exchanges against a disciplined Newcastle side, Spurs found themselves trailing to Fabian Schär’s opportunistic free-kick and with a mountain to climb to maintain their hopes of finishing in the top four this season. Down on the touchline a furious Conte could barely contain his frustration as he stamped his feet. Continue reading...
Brentford and Newcastle fans come together to hail sight that felt impossible on grim day at the Euros last summerIt was 259 days ago that Mathias Jensen came on for Denmark against Finland at the Euros, replacing Christian Eriksen, who had been carried away on a stretcher an hour and three-quarters earlier having suffered a cardiac arrest. That substitution was leant poignancy by its banality, an ordinary act in extraordinary circumstances. What nobody realised then was that it was a substitution that would echo forward as well as back: it was Jensen who went off on Saturday as Eriksen made his return to football, the sort of coincidence that hints at wider patterns and things that are meant to be.“If...
A Denmark fan recounts how it all unfolded – and what a country united in support of its team thinks of UefaA week ago Denmark’s Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch during the Euro 2020 game against Finland, having suffered a cardiac arrest. His heart had stopped beating and, according to the Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen, he “was gone”. This is the story about the heroes of Copenhagen and how Eriksen’s life was saved – and what it meant for the nation.5pm GMT, Saturday 12 June – the excitement After a year’s delay because of Covid-19, 13,790 extremely excited Denmark and Finland supporters are in the national team’s stadium, Parken. I am not one of the lucky ones so...
Maurizio Sarri’s team were left frazzled by the craft of Eriksen, Alli and Son and the return of Spurs’ high pressWith 16 minutes gone at Wembley it was clear the witching hour was at hand. Strange things had already begun to happen. Chelsea’s custard-yellow shirts seemed to be moving through a heavier gravity. Moussa Sissoko had just picked up the ball in midfield and slalomed away from two Chelsea players, legs flailing like a drunken Zidane. No doubt in the rows of suburban houses beyond the glare of the stadium the cats began to bark, the dogs miaowed and the birds flew backwards.At which point, with Tottenham already 1-0 up, David Luiz seemed to wink out of existence completely; to...