A brilliant clearance from the 37-year-old was backed up by goals and the movement of Reece James and N’Golo KantéWith 28 minutes gone and Chelsea deservedly a goal to the good on a thrilling evening at Stamford Bridge, Thiago Silva could be seen racing back towards the Matthew Harding Stand, his eyes fixed on the ball as he prepared to pull off a piece of defending that would have left most men of his age vowing never to try anything so ridiculous again.It should not have been possible. For once Chelsea’s imperious defence had been caught out. Alvaro Morata must have thought he was about to silence the taunts from the home fans after reaching Manuel Locatelli’s pass a split...
Striker hit six goals in seven days including two against Juventus to leave Max Allegri’s side 16 points off the topGiovanni Simeone gets tired of every conversation coming back to his father. All through his development as a youth player, he had to put up with the suspicions of strangers. People who might have never seen him play, yet chose to believe he was having certain opportunities because his dad, Diego, had been a superstar player and was on the path to becoming one as a manager.Even now, 26 years old and enjoying his sixth season as a starter in Serie A, Giovanni knows every success will come with a predictable line of questioning. After scoring twice to bury Juventus...
He was billed as the missing piece of the jigsaw but the Belgium striker was increasingly frustrated in the defeat by JuventusIs it time to talk about Romelu Lukaku? Or rather, to talk about the way in that this mannered Chelsea team still seems to be toying with that final element of its armoury, spinning it on its end, admiring its edges.Lukaku has been called the final piece in this jigsaw so many times, you wonder what kind of jigsaw this is that can become champions of Europe, with such excess talent available, and still claim to be incomplete. Continue reading...
Success at the Euros and Olympics has created a feelgood factor but high-profile departures have damaged the league’s statusItaly has never known a sporting summer like it. After Roberto Mancini’s Azzurri delivered on his vow to win Euro 2020, the Olympians followed up with a record 40 medals and 10 golds in Tokyo. Fabio Capello spoke for many: “I have never felt so Italian as I do right now.”Will the feelgood factor carry over into a new Serie A season? Or has Italy’s top football league been diminished by the departures of too many leading lights? The Internazionale team who ended Juventus’s nine-year reign as champions have since bid farewell to Antonio Conte, Romelu Lukaku and Achraf Hakimi. Their city...
Cristiano Ronaldo could only watch as Juventus squeaked into the Champions League thanks to Napoli falling at the lastJuventus spent the final seconds of the 2020-21 season huddled around a mobile phone they had borrowed from a journalist. After nine consecutive Serie A titles, the team that hoped to play a leading role in a breakaway European Super League had been reduced to waiting and watching somebody else decide whether they could finish among Italy’s top four. Related: European roundup: Lille win at Angers to seal first Ligue 1 title in 10 years Kessie from the spot again! Milan secure Champions League qualification and second place in Serie A to go with it! ⚫Juventus grab the final Champions League place...