Jürgen Klopp will have mixed feelings after a wild, ragged win over Milan that showcased all the best – and worst – of his team“Proper Champions League”. You said it, Jürgen. At times in the second half at Anfield, as the red and cream shapes spun and surged, exchanging darts and overloads, as the crowd generated that rolling surge of heat and noise under the low white lights, this felt like a kind of tribute night, a nostalgia spectacular, Those Famous European Nights redux.Part of the PR puff behind the European Super League – a wheeze the owners of these teams were so keen to embrace – was the sense these autumn games are a trudge, a schlep, cold product....
Exits for Conte and Zidane, together with talk of Pochettino returning to Spurs, epitomise the chaos of modern football At first glance, Antonio Conte leaving a club in dispute with the owners soon after leading them to a league title may not seem particularly significant. This is what he does. His departure from Internazionale follows ostensibly similar departures from Juventus and Chelsea, and he left the Italy national job early as well.But this is about far more than Conte. What is happening at Inter is emblematic of the chaos of modern football and the struggles of an industry that had become a stage for the soft-power machinations of various states and oligarchs and was in need of major financial recalibration...
Milan won at Juve for the first time in 10 years and the consequences for both teams could be wide-rangingIf a single image could capture how far Juventus’s sights have fallen in this catastrophic campaign, it might be the anguish on Paulo Dybala’s face after he fired wide at the end of their defeat to Milan. There were seconds left to play at Allianz Stadium, too few to believe his team had any chance of rescuing a positive result from a game they were losing 3-0. Dybala was desperate not because he thought Juventus might pinch a draw but because, on the night they dropped out of the top four, one goal would at least prevent them from giving up...
Lazio’s impressive win over the Rossoneri has them closing in on the struggling pair with a handful of games remainingWas Fabio Paratici still in denial on Monday night? Before Juventus kicked off away to Fiorentina on Sunday, their chief football officer insisted nobody at the club was even considering the possibility that they might finish outside the top four. By the time this latest round of Serie A games had finished, his team was locked in a three-way tie for third.One of the teams alongside them was Milan. Between the two, it is hard to know which might feel more dread at the prospect of missing out on the Champions League. As winners of the past nine Serie A titles,...
Napoli and Sassuolo’s six-goal thriller upstaged the Milan star’s guest appearance at the Sanremo Music FestivalZlatan Ibrahimovic took some time off from co-hosting the Sanremo Music Festival to watch Milan draw with Udinese on Wednesday. After weeks of anguished speculation about how his involvement in the event might impact his team’s title push, the Swede had picked up a thigh injury that ruled him out of this game regardless. Related: 'This is why we kneel': Van Aanholt reveals racist abuse over miss Zlatan Ibrahimovic makes his big entrance at Sanremo... “Good evening, Italy. It’s an honour to be here, but it’s also a great honour for you to have me here.”️️ @TheMilanGuyspic.twitter.com/H3Q3WTj15c Related: Gianluigi Buffon: 'It’s important to get things...