When the final whistle went, allowing Simone Inzaghi to charge the field at last, it felt as though we had entered a new chapterSimone Inzaghi finished Sunday night with a torn pair of trousers. The Lazio manager had been in perpetual motion through the final minutes of Lazio’s game against Inter, running the touchline with such bellicose vigour that you half expected him to leap into a sliding challenge at any moment. When a ball came out to Milan Skriniar on the near side of the pitch, Inzaghi was quicker to him than any defender.Lazio were on the cusp of another landmark victory in a season that has known a few. Inzaghi’s team beat Juventus 3-1 twice in the space...
Farke faces defensive dilemma for Liverpool, Forest need their best XI, Chelsea’s women eye treble and a six-pointer in AustriaLeeds are falling apart. Maybe. But here’s the thing: anyone who beats them ends up falling apart too. None of the eight teams who have got the better of Marcelo Bielsa’s men in Championship this season have won their next match – seven of them have lost it. Nottingham Forest were the latest to find that beating Bielsa’s side takes a heavy toll, as on the back of last weekend’s 2-0 win at the City Ground, they flopped to a home defeat by Charlton. But they are still only two points off the automatic promotion places and could foil West Brom’s...
Former Manchester United striker provides ‘Hollywood’ ending to dramatic Milan derby and leaves Inter joint top of Serie AWe ought to be talking about Verona. We ought to be talking about an astonishing week for the club with the lowest wage bill in Serie A, in which they drew with Milan and Lazio before beating the champions, and league leaders, Juventus. We ought to be talking about how a newly promoted side went from battling relegation to sixth place, via an eight-game unbeaten run, inspired by a manager with a passion for death metal.But then, Sunday night happened. A Milan derby played to a full house at San Siro. Flares, banners, and thousands of supporters lighting up their mobile phones...
It was not a spectacular clash but an intriguing draw left us hungry for more and showed Leipzig are worthy title rivals“There was a lot in it but at the same time,” said Thomas Müller, “there was nothing in it.” One of Bayern’s very sharpest minds (and tongues) hit the nail on the head for the umpteenth time in a career every bit as interesting off the pitch as it has been on it. As Munich waited for a storm to brew, meteorologically as well as metaphorically, the Bundesliga’s big clash of the season to date simultaneously gave and took away, delivered and let down, satisfied and left you hungry for more.It felt as if the whole occasion had been...
Sacking of Ernesto Valverde and Messi’s fallout with sporting director Eric Abidal are symptoms of long-term stagnation and disjointed structure at the Camp NouL ast Tuesday, as Lionel Messi lashed out at the club’s sporting director, Eric Abidal, the crisis at Barcelona became official. But this is a story about far more than clashing egos and mismanagement at the Camp Nou. It is a parable of modern football, of the problem with genius and the difficulty of identity.Perhaps the strangest aspect of the saga – sparked by the Argentinian reacting with fury to what he saw as Abidal’s attempt to blame the players for the recent sacking of Ernesto Valverde – is that it has taken so long to reach...