This is not a repeat of 2013-14: Atlético are playing expansive football and cemented their favourites tag against BarcelonaLate on Saturday night, not long after his players had beaten Barcelona 1-0, immortalised a moment even they hadn’t experienced before with a celebratory photo taken in an improvised recovery room beneath the stands and headed home still in their kit, Diego Simeone sat in an empty auditorium and started another Zoom call. A series of journalists appeared on screen, taking it in turns attempting to get him to say Atlético Madrid are going to win the league. Or at least try to. One by one they failed, until somebody asked if he saw any similarities between this team and the one...
Musah’s record-breaking goal had lifted spirits after Kondogbia’s exit but crisis was deepening until Getafe threw them a lifeline “There’s one shot and the game’s over,” Javi Gracia said, and Valencia’s manager knew it wasn’t just the game either. Two minutes before the curfew began at last the crowd dispersed, leaving Carlos Soler alone in the silence. All that and it came down to this. For 99 minutes Valencia and Getafe had done battle, another chapter in a modern rivalry, producing two red cards, 13 yellows, 43 fouls, three goals and then this: a penalty to finish. Having been 1-0 up, Valencia were 2-1 down, conceding in the 87th and 94th minutes, the void opening beneath them. But suddenly here...
The newly promoted side were left pinching themselves after ending a 30-year wait to beat – and outplay – the champions The plane was miles above above Spain heading south, it was dark outside and they were still some way from home when an urgent announcement came from the flight deck. “I’m from Cádiz,” the co-pilot informed them over the loud speaker, “and I just wanted to say congratulations because today you did something historic that will be remembered for ever.” It was late and the passengers – the first Cádiz team to play in primera for 15 years – were exhausted but they began to applaud. From down the cabin, a few chanted his name. “Rufiano! Rufiano!” they sang,...
The trauma of the manager’s sacking by Spain and a bitterly brief stay at Real Madrid is all but forgotten with his latest clubThere was a moment late on Sunday night when the camera closed in on Luuk de Jong which seemed to say something about trust and team, and what they’re building together at Sevilla. He had scored at the Camp Nou – as he had done against Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, Real Betis, Inter and Manchester United – but having opened the scoring inside eight minutes the ball had been back in play just 41 seconds when Philippe Coutinho equalised. Now, withdrawn six minutes from the end of an exhausting evening, the former Newcastle striker sat in the...
In Spain, the changing room was deemed a high-risk Covid-19 transmission spot. And so they have been shutThere was a little over an hour until kick-off against Atlético Madrid on Wednesday evening and they hadn’t reached the ground yet, but Huesca’s players were already stretched and changed. One after another they came down the stairs or out the lift and into the foyer at a small hotel in the town centre. Outside, the bus had pulled up in front of the park, engine running. They strolled past the disinfected rug, the hand gel dispensers and out into the sunshine, climbing on board in full kit and trainers. When they got to Alcoraz, most went straight on the pitch. They weren’t...