His amazing dribble against Espanyol was my moment of the week, festive season and possibly year, conveying a feeling of goodwill and childish wonderOne of the most remarkable things about Christmas is its basic reach, the layers of ritual and habit, the way this very special time of year manages to smear itself like a basting of goose fat across every one of the vital senses. Overwhelmed by these ruddy-cheeked riches, it can be a tricky choice. We all have our preferences. But in the end it’s really just a personal choice which part of Christmas you hate the most.The list is endless. Motorway gridlock. Men who use the word Chrimbo. Adorable bright-eyed, husky-voiced, bowl-headed American children in family movies...
The podders reflect on City’s controversial comeback against Arsenal. Plus: Hull hit rock bottom, Manchester United’s decent run continues, and Real Madrid win the Club World Cup for a second timeIt must be (nearly) Christmas, because on today’s Football Weekly, my true love sent to me AC Jimbo, Barry Glendenning, Paolo Bandini, and Barney Bloody Ronay!We kick things off at the Etihad where City came from behind to beat Arsenal, much to the chagrin of Arsène Wenger. Elsewhere, Manchester United made it three wins in a row and eight games sans defeat with a Zlatan double against West Brom, Jamie Vardy saw red as Leicester battled to a 2-2 draw with Stoke, and Hull hit rock bottom after they lost...
Every day, another manager gets it. Every day, another manager gets closer to getting it in the neck. And all eyes are on Borussia and Wolfsburg’Tis the season to wind down, buy stuff that nobody needs nor wants, avoid mulled wine drunkards, rummage through recycled paper bags in search of the odd wormless chestnut, laze about until the sun goes down again, bake Plätzchen, watch Johannes B Kerner or Markus Lanz feign interest in a collection of Z listers, musically talented kids and sickness/catastrophe/marriage breakdown survivors and, most of all, be grateful that we Germans have been blessed with peace and freedom – the peace and freedom that comes from being left alone by football for four weeks.Alas, the most...
Escribá’s appointment was a shock on the eve of the season but Villarreal have moved serenely into fourth place with a more relaxed approachFran Escribá was wearing swimming trunks and was on his way down to get an ice cream when the phone rang. It was 10 August, half past 11 at night, by the beach in Puig and he had missed a couple of calls already. He was on holiday after all, a football manager out of a job and pretty sure he wasn’t going to be in one any moment now: it was too late to start a season and too soon to save one. This time he recognised the number and picked up. “Hey,” he was told,...
The gap between the champions and chasing pack in Serie A looks as wide as it has ever done after Gonzalo Higuaín bulldozed Juve to a win over RomaThe numbers alone tell a story. Following a 1-0 victory over Roma, Juventus sit seven points clear at the top of Serie A. The Bianconeri have won 25 consecutive home matches, equaling a club record, and collected 100 points in this calendar year. They have been crowned as Serie A’s ‘winter champions’ – the unofficial title given to the team that leads the table at the season’s midway stage – with two games to spare.And yet, an even more vivid picture of their domestic domination had been painted on the pitch at...