In the absence of Juventus’s season being a success, their star man grabbed some individual glory for himself Cristiano Ronaldo achieved perfection on Sunday. One goal with his head, another with his right foot and finally a third with his left. A perfect hat-trick, in the language of football. Perhaps it felt a little less flawless to the Cagliari goalkeeper Alessio Cragno, who bled from the chin when the forward’s studs caught him in the 14th minute, before the last two of those goals were scored.It was a challenge that deserved a red card, Ronaldo raising his boot above shoulder height as he challenged for a cross. The referee Gianpaolo Calvarese opted for a yellow. A sliding doors moment that...
Changes to the European Cup represent the desire for football to continue growing but alterations may harm its legitimacyThe worlds of Marvel superheroes and European club football aren’t so dissimilar. They are massively popular forms of entertainment, competing for eyeballs in the global marketplace. They have traditional fans who remember things how they used to be and those who want a product that reflects their lives now. They each boast a roster of names that vary in terms of recognition (for every Incredible Hulk or Barcelona, there is a Moon Knight or FC Krasnodar) and right now they are setting up their next chapter.For Marvel it is about expansion: more TV shows, more characters and more movies. The powers of...
After six consecutive defeats at Bayern by an aggregate of 26-3, there were mixed feelings after Dortmund’s latest Klassiker lossAs Erling Haaland sat on the bench, right boot and sock off, the reasons for his glum demeanour stretched beyond discomfort in his tended-to right foot that had contributed to curtailing his participation in Der Klassiker. It was about the pain of inevitability as he watched on, knowing his Borussia Dortmund had come so close to frustrating the champions, against the odds, only to stumble and fall with the finishing tape in sight.The young Norwegian had almost foreseen it, speaking pre-game about how it seemed as if every time he scored, Robert Lewandowski – the only centre-forward in the Bundesliga classed...
Two goals against Lazio showed again that the Spaniard and Juve are a happy fit and, at €10m, Andrea Pirlo has got a bargain With their title hopes hanging by a thread, Juventus turned once more to their Iberian saviour. You know the one: tall, dark hair, a repeat Champions League winner from his time at Real Madrid. A forward who has lifted silverware in Spain, Italy and England and who bangs in the goals for his country at a rate of one in every other game.He had rescued them once already last week, coming off the bench to break a second-half stalemate at Spezia. On Saturday, he delivered a more remarkable rescue: setting up a goal then scoring two...
Napoli and Sassuolo’s six-goal thriller upstaged the Milan star’s guest appearance at the Sanremo Music FestivalZlatan Ibrahimovic took some time off from co-hosting the Sanremo Music Festival to watch Milan draw with Udinese on Wednesday. After weeks of anguished speculation about how his involvement in the event might impact his team’s title push, the Swede had picked up a thigh injury that ruled him out of this game regardless. Related: 'This is why we kneel': Van Aanholt reveals racist abuse over miss Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes his big entrance at Sanremo... “Good evening, Italy. It’s an honour to be here, but it’s also a great honour for you to have me here.”️️ @TheMilanGuyspic.twitter.com/H3Q3WTj15c Related: Gianluigi Buffon: 'It’s important to get things...