The first red card in his Barcelona career can be seen as the culmination of his club’s decline, and the kicking and barging he has endured for yearsExactly 90 seconds before the act of violence that will earn Lionel Messi his first red card for Barcelona, he’s standing just inside the halfway line, waiting to receive a pass. He’s seen a gap. The sort of gap Messi has seen thousands of times before. Related: Messi sent off as Athletic Bilbao sink Barcelona to win Spanish Super Cup Related: Boardroom turmoil, troubling finances and Messi's influence: why Barcelona are a mess Continue reading...
The Serbian forward instantly rediscovered his scoring touch for Eintracht Frankfurt after a miserable stay at Real Madrid on the same night the captain David Abraham bade farewellIt felt like not just a goal but a release, a way of making a longed-for expression – of frustration, of indignation, and of relief. Luka Jovic’s first goal back at Eintracht Frankfurt had taken three days and, in on-pitch terms, 10 minutes to arrive and it was worth it, unhesitatingly smashed into the Schalke net from his compatriot Filip Kostic’s delivery. Related: Antonio Conte outsmarts Andrea Pirlo in great leap forward for Inter | Nicky Bandini Related: Fifa dismisses Atlético's appeal against Kieran Trippier's 10-week suspension Related: Messi sent off as Athletic...
Internazionale outclassed Juventus on Sunday night in a 2-0 victory to strike a significant blow in the title raceIt was a weekend that promised fireworks. Lazio against Roma on Friday night, and Inter hosting Juventus on Sunday: a derby that defines Italy’s capital city, leading into a game that has long been billed as the Derby d’Italia – a derby for all of Italy. Related: Premier League: 10 talking points from the weekend action Vidal accidentally kissed the Juventus badge before kick off pic.twitter.com/VduftSgVN4 Related: Messi sent off as Athletic Bilbao sink Barcelona to win Spanish Super Cup Continue reading...
An icy flight across Spain was in vain for Madrid as they were held in Pamplona while Atlêtico’s games in hand rack upAthletic Club Bilbao parked the bus but couldn’t land the plane. The driver arrived early and waited outside Barajas Terminal Four on Friday evening while thousands of feet above him the pilot bringing the team to Madrid to play Atlético circled the city before giving up and going home. At around the same time Real Madrid’s players were sitting in another plane on the runway, watching snow fall and time pass. To the south, Rayo Vallecano’s footballers got off the coach and helped push stranded cars along the road, or tried to. “Do you think we should be...
The serial Bundesliga champions were two goals up and strolling before they were taken apart by Marco Rose’s team Few would have blamed Marco Rose for being self-congratulatory or even a bit smug. That is not really the Borussia Mönchengladbach coach’s style, so he went for plainly, patiently and concisely explaining his tactical plan that worked to perfection for the benefit of viewers after the match. A plan, by the way, that worked on not just any opponents, but on Bayern Munich.Any time Bayern stumble it’s a shock, and particularly so in the thus far imperious Hansi Flick era. There are, however, degrees of shocks and if any team was going to not just wrestle the champions to the floor,...