The Real Madrid forward scored a hat-trick in the last derby against Atlético at the Vicente Calderón, with the numbers starting to add up for his managerCristiano Ronaldo put his hands on his hips and took a long, lingering look up at the Vicente Calderón. He stood there for a while, alone, striking a challenging pose, chest out and steady in front of the south stand. Beyond the netting, a barrier for flying objects, thousands of Atlético Madrid fans raised their middle fingers and their voices. Others just looked stunned. In the middle somewhere, one of them puffed on a cigarette. So this is how it ends. An hour and a half earlier, a huge banner had engulfed them all:...
Jorge Sampaoli’s side are on the up and a breathless, brilliant display threatened to deflate Barcelona until the Catalan side’s Argentinian talisman sprang into lifeSamir Nasri has finished training, his heart monitor laid on the window ledge with the others. The scans say he shouldn’t play but he says he will and his manager appreciates it. He’s perhaps La Liga’s best midfielder so far; the man his coach says makes the team breathe. Steven N’Zonzi, perhaps the second-best, ambles by in flip-flops and baggy shorts. Lifesized inflatable footballers lean against the fence; actual footballers ride buggies, alighting at the gym. Sergio Escudero grins and staff embrace him. News just in: he’s in the Spain squad. The groundsman, in cricketer’s shirt...
Jorge Sampaoli’s side recorded their first away win for 511 days at Leganés last weekend but while there are signs of progress, there’s much work to do“Players end up fearing they’ll never win away again,” Jorge Sampaoli said and you could see why. Sevilla hadn’t won on the road since 2015 – you know, back when there was hope. Worse, they hadn’t won away for a year and four months: 511 days had passed since a 3-2 victory at Málaga on the final weekend of 2014-15. An entire season had been and gone but they hadn’t been and won. They’d defeated lesser clubs Logronés and Mirandés in the Cup and Athletic in Europe, true, but travelling just wasn’t their thing....
Spurs beat Manchester City to go second in the Premier League. Plus: Barcelona come unstuck at Celta Vigo and Aston Villa sack Roberto Di MatteoSubscribe and review: iTunes, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, AcastIt’s the year 5777, and on today’s Football Weekly, AC Jimbo is joined by fellow jetsetters Barry Glendenning, Iain Macintosh and Jacob Steinberg. Continue reading...
Athletic’s stalwart defender scored his first goal after more than 300 games and that was far from the only unusual occurrence in Spain in week sixThe door opened and there they were, waiting for him: all of Athletic Bilbao’s players and all the staff, the president too, like a secret birthday party.When Mikel Balenziaga appeared, they started cheering and clapping, piling in to slap him on the back and head. Then they burst into song, bouncing about. If no one shouted “Surprise!” it was because they weren’t the surprise; he was. Ten years Balenziaga has been playing, more than 300 games, and he had never scored. On Saturday, he did – and it was a beauty, too, bursting through to...