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Woe of Cologne continues amid latest video replay stink | Andy Brassell

A 5-0 thrashing at Dortmund could have been worse, even with a dubious VAR decision, and there are already fears of a situation spinning out of controlJörg Schmadtke rushed out to the Sky truck in the TV compound to pore over every possible angle – and to check his eyes weren’t deceiving him. By that point, the Köln sporting director had already been on the Signal Iduna Park pitch, shoulder to shoulder with the coach, Peter Stöger, protesting to the referee, Patrick Ittrich, over the award by VAR of Borussia Dortmund’s second goal. Before any more fingers start pointing at Effzee about an anarchic end to a chaotic week, we should add that this was a reasonable moment for both...

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RB Leipzig Champions League anthem inspires group stage qualification | Andy Brassell

The players celebrated in front of their supporters, who had faced a raft of protest banners, one proclaiming their team to be the ‘gravediggers of football’Even before it all kicked off in Berlin, RB Leipzig were already in the mood. In the dressing room at the Olympiastadion on Saturday afternoon, the coach Ralph Hasenhüttl played his squad a video compilation of their season’s highlights, “with the Champions League anthem at the end” as outro music, as the midfielder Diego Demme later told journalists.It clearly had the desired effect. Leipzig simply overpowered the European hopefuls Hertha Berlin in a performance that was so finely honed that it was almost a caricature of their best qualities. They pressed Pal Dardai’s side like...

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