The Reds have let in three or more goals four times this season but the main problem is not just in defence but more the lack of a proper holding playerAt around 10 to 10 local time on Tuesday Liverpool were leading Sevilla 3-0. The home side were pressing and had had chances in the first half but there was no real sense of danger. Only the knowledge of Liverpool’s past record suggested the game might not be over.All they had to do was hold out, wait for the storm to pass, avoid doing anything stupid. Alberto Moreno did something stupid. Related: Blind Liverpool fan makes formal complaint against Seville police tactics Related: Chelsea did not give Mohamed Salah his...
Valencia have changed everything from their players’ diets to the players themselves, and the revolution at the club has sent them second from topValencia’s players were hungry. It was two years since they’d had a decent run of results and it felt almost as long since they’d had a decent meal.For the 13th time in five years they were under new management and this time things were actually going to change. Not just the coach but the culture, everything from the president to the players to what was put on their plate. If you are what you eat, it was time to eat something good. At Paterna, the club’s training ground, food was prepared for them, but not much of...
From Real Madrid’s historic double to a bottom three in a league of their own, via explosive managerial cameos and that statue, it’s the annual awardsLuka Modric went to lift the trophy but there was nothing in his hands, just a look on his face that said it all. Beside him, Gareth Bale was giggling. Real Madrid won the league, shouting, embracing and leaping around the pitch at the Rosaleda where they had just defeated Málaga on the final day, but there was something missing. “What do you mean, no trophy?” the Croatian asked Madrid’s press officer. “They’ll hand it out at the start of next season,” came the reply. “So now we celebrate here, we go back to the...
Sevilla are suddenly in crisis, and the departure of their brilliant transfer wizard after 26 years leaves an enormous hole to fill at the Sánchez PizjuánOn Sunday afternoon Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo did something he had only done once before and hasn’t done for almost 20 years: he hid from Sevilla supporters at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Just before midnight on 10 September 1997, ‘Monchi’ watched a late lob fly over him into the net, allowing tiny Isla Cristina to knock them out of the cup, and fans were so furious that the kitman smuggled him out in the back of his van, the defeated keeper covering his face whenever he pulled up at the lights and his coach briefly even removing...
A 3-1 scoreline was flattering to the losers and a run of four games without a win in all competitions encapsulates a season threatening to end prematurelyThey were enjoying this down by the river, singing along in the spring sunshine. Diego Simeone led them through the chorus of Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You dedicated to Fernando Torres, “The Kid” who is 33 on Monday and who had come on this time unlike the last, finally returning from that head injury, and they swiftly followed by chanting at Cholo too. Related: Lionel Messi scores twice as Barcelona survive early Valencia shock Luis Enrique amused to see journalist fast asleep during his press conference https://t.co/uMo3cI5L6f "I know I can go...