It is still early in the season but even a draw in the derby was not much use; Madrid and Atlético had to win. Only Barcelona didFC Barcelona pulled out of Butarque on an angular blue and orange bus that looked like it had been borrowed from a school trip in the 90s a bit before seven on Saturday evening and headed 30 kilometres north up the M40 to the airport at Barajas, their work done. Half of it, anyway. Nearby, just about visible from the terminal, stood the Wanda Metropolitano, where the rest of it was done for them. Not long after Barça had set off, and a couple of hours after Alavés had passed on their way north...
Spurs made the European champions look limp, lazy and disorganised – maybe the competitiveness at the top of the Premier League is finally benefiting the English sidesIt was one of the greatest nights in Tottenham’s history. It was better than beating Internazionale 3-1, probably the equal of those fraught nights in 1983-84 when Bayern Munich, Austria Vienna, Hajduk Split and Anderlecht were overcome on the way to the Uefa Cup. Almost whatever happens over the next three decades, it is safe to assume that in 2050 Christian Eriksen’s goal will still be included in the pre-match White Hart Lane montage as Danny Blanchflower’s voice, the crackle of time even more pronounced, explains once again that the game is about glory.And...
Dele Alli, Harry Winks and Kieran Trippier showed no respect for reputations by forcing Toni Kroos into errors and putting Casemiro and co on their backsidesShortly before half-time on a thrilling, boisterous European night, there was a moment of rare comedy at Wembley. Tackling back in his own half, Harry Winks let an arm trail lightly across Casemiro’s shoulder, only for the Brazilian to reel back, stunned, tumbling over backwards desperately. Casemiro didn’t want the ball. He wanted a break. He wanted his free‑kick.Ten minutes into the second half something similar happened. As Marcelo rumbled upfield Dele Alli sprinted 40 metres in an arc to harry him and eventually concede another foul as Marcelo crumpled gratefully. Marcelo didn’t really want...
Zinedine Zidane’s side arrive in London after their worst start in the league since the José Mourinho era but the Champions League has often been their escapeOn the plane back from defeat in Girona on Sunday evening Zinedine Zidane went over the game again while in the rows behind him his players quietly watched films or TV series, keen to clear their minds of what had just happened. “It wasn’t a nice feeling,” Sergio Ramos admitted, and it didn’t make for good viewing either. “I’m not worried,” the Real Madrid manager had said as he sat in front of the media after the match; now, as he sat in front of his captain flying west, and with no need to...
As the crisis in Catalonia reached fever pitch outside the ground, the minnows of Girona beat Real Madrid in a symbolic but richly-deserved winPablo Machín stood by the table football in the middle of the Montilivi dressing room where two teams lined up rigidly in 3-3-4, one in blue, the other in white, and told his players – the real ones in red – they should be proud. He didn’t speak for long, just a few seconds standing there among the socks, bandages and bottles on the floor, and when he finished there was applause from everyone and for everyone. There was no cava, Girona’s coach said, but there was a celebration and, he admitted, euphoria. “Maybe it’s the coach’s...