The minnows were given next to no chance of staying up but a spirited manager and a prolific striker who helped slay a giant have made it a tangible prospectThink of Davide Nicola less as a football club manager than as a public servant. Speaking before his Crotone team’s match against Inter this weekend, he told reporters that his main goal was to “make this end to the season interesting”. Related: Robben and Ribéry party like it's 2013 as Ancelotti styles Bayern Munich his way | Andy Brassell Related: Barcelona's Neymar at risk of missing clásico after red card in Málaga defeat Continue reading...
Barça’s fate was in their own hands, which as it turned out was the worst place it could be against Málaga, despite the draw by La Liga title rivalsBarcelona’s fate was in their own hands, which as it turned out was the worst place it could possibly be. Saturday’s story was the story of the season in Spain: everything changed to stay the same, the table remaining unmoved. Another dead ball, another defender leaping to score, another victory coming for Real Madrid, this time in the city derby – the game the front pages had declared “half the league” only that was not the half of it. Pepe’s header would have been an appropriate way to win their first title...
The veteran ‘Robbery’ pair destroyed Borussia Dortmund and have won the fight with Douglas Costa and Kingsley Coman to be Ancelotti’s weapons of choiceIt was Der Klassiker in name, but not quite always in nature. When Bayern Munich meet Borussia Dortmund it always means something, but there were hints throughout on Saturday evening’s three-quarter-throttle effort of bests being saved for more significant challenges to come. There was “even time for kisses,” as Süddeutsche Zeitung put it, referring to Carlo Ancelotti’s peck on the cheek for Franck Ribéry on the touchline as the Frenchman was replaced deep into the second half. It is safe to assume that if there was some sort of acquiesce of non-aggression before a week which will...
There was nothing Hollywood (or FC Hollywood) about Hoffenheim’s victory at the 18th time of trying. It was all very real and credibleAll things come to those who wait, and as Hoffenheim’s owner Dietmar Hopp said as night drew in on Tuesday: “The 18th attempt against Bayern was the most beautiful.”Hopp, the 76-year-old software billionaire whose funds have propelled his local club from village obscurity to the Bundesliga’s podium, had every right to enjoy the moment. His team’s 17-match winless streak against German football’s gold standard had encompassed a mix of near misses and – naturally – a few genuine spankings, but this was no fluke or pig-headed rearguard action. Hoffenheim were simply better than Bayern on the night, even...
It was the round of games that could have changed everything, but didn’t really change anything, except that the finish line drew closerMálaga’s manager Míchel González called it liberation, safety virtually secured against Sporting Gijón. Real Betis’s fans called for coach Víctor Sánchez del Amo to go, just like Gus Poyet, except that time they actually wrote a letter demanding his sacking and this time they just sang it. Diego Simeone appealed for Atlético’s fans to put down their sandwiches and shout. Thirteen kilometres down the A42 at Butarque, where the sandwiches are better than anywhere else, sizzling away on a portable hotplate, Leganés’s supporters did, beaten but singing about their top flight status on the night Real Madrid visited...