Join the Exploding Heads as they reflect back at April’s highlights, including Chris Hughton’s April Fools’ fallout, Tottenham’s new stadium tilting London and more.
The best way to deal with Lionel Messi is to treat him like football’s version of the Incredible Hulk: Don’t make him angry and you might just be spared an ordeal of pain and humiliation.
Liverpool midfielder James Milner did not get the memo, judging by his crude first-half barge on the home side’s No. 10 during Barcelona’s 3-0 Champions League semifinal first-leg win Wednesday at the Nou Camp, and it is fair to say that the Premier League side went on to reap a whirlwind of two-goal Messi’s annoyance.
“In…
The FC’s crew agree that an off-the-pace midfield was a bigger worry for Tottenham than missing key players in their loss to Ajax.
Gab Marcotti was more impressed with Ajax’s maturity and ability to manage a 1-0 result away from home than with their attacking prowess.
LONDON — For 25 minutes Tuesday, Ajax appeared to be playing a different sport to Tottenham Hotspur.
Their superiority was such, their passing so quick, their thoughts so clear, that if you’d offered most Spurs fans a 3-0 defeat after the first quarter of the game, plenty would have taken it. Spurs played as if they had been spun round a dozen times before they emerged onto the pitch, dazed and unsteady. Ajax made 132 accurate passes in the first 15 minutes. Spurs had 43.
“For the first 20…
After another David De Gea blunder against Chelsea, Craig Burley examines the Man United keeper’s struggles and ponders his frame of mind.
Chelsea and Manchester United did little to lay claim to the 4th and final Champions League spot as the Blues cling to a 2-point lead over Arsenal for 4th.
MANCHESTER, England – As he walked off the pitch at the end of Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Old Trafford, David De Gea threw his gloves into the crowd and headed up the players’ tunnel.
After making yet another costly mistake that led to his team conceding a goal — this one, scored by Marcos Alonso, is likely to have cost United a place in next season’s Champions League — some might suggest that the goalkeeper will not need his gloves again this season.
Whether that proves…
Manchester City scraped to a narrow 1-0 win at Burnley to return to the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City scraped to a narrow 1-0 win at Burnley to return to the top of the Premier League.
ESPN FC’s Craig Burley says that despite the tight scoreline, Manchester City were in complete control even if their attack wasn’t firing on all cylinders.
BURNLEY, England — It would be appropriate, after such a relentless chase between Manchester City and Liverpool, if this season’s title race was won by the slimmest of margins. It would feel impossibly cruel, too. How hearts must have sunk on Merseyside when, after feeling his wrist watch vibrate, referee Paul Tierney signalled Sergio Aguero’s scruffy close-range effort had crossed the line; it had beaten Matt Lowton’s desperate lunge by a mere 29.51 millimetres and Jurgen Klopp will not need…
Michail Antonio’s goal puts an end to Tottenham’s perfect run in their new stadium.
LONDON — As Tottenham slumped to their first defeat in their new ground at the hands of West Ham, you couldn’t help but think of the contrast between them and their Champions League opponents, Ajax.
Ahead of Tuesday’s fixture here at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Dutch FA has postponed an entire round of Eredivisie fixtures to allow Ajax the opportunity to rest ahead of the Champions League semifinal. They might not have spent the day with their feet up — more likely they’ve been working…
Ronaldo Vieira is loving life in Italy as he slowly becomes an integral part of Sampdoria’s new-look midfield.
GENOA, Italy — William welcomes us with open arms. He ushers us into the backroom of his restaurant, which doubles as a shrine to Sampdoria. Framed shirts line the walls, with thank you notes and dedications penned on the white numbering. There’s one from Lucas Torreira one, Patrik Schick one, Milan Skriniar one and, bizarrely, for a diner by the beach on this stretch of the Ligurian coast, one from QPR winger Pawel Wszolek, who used to love this place when he played for Samp a few years ago.
When…
Liverpool cantered past a feeble Huddersfield winning 5-0 at Anfield to return to the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool cantered past a feeble Huddersfield winning 5-0 at Anfield to return to the top of the Premier League.
Liverpool cantered past a feeble Huddersfield winning 5-0 at Anfield to return to the top of the Premier League.
Ian Darke and Craig Burley explain why Liverpool’s thrashing of lowly Huddersfield Town sets them up perfectly for their trip to Barcelona.
LIVERPOOL, England — Mohamed Salah was tweeting pictures from a pizza restaurant in New York City on Tuesday afternoon before going on to share the spotlight with Taylor Swift and Emilia Clarke at the Time 100 Gala at the Lincoln Center later that evening.
He then flew back across the Atlantic on Wednesday, reporting for training at Liverpool on Thursday, so it’s fair to say that the forward ignored a few of the classic “dos and don’ts” when it comes to preparing for a big game ahead of his team’s…
Arsenal’s top four hopes took another major hit in a 3-1 defeat to Wolves, their second straight Premier League defeat.
The FC crew wonder if Arsenal should shift their focus to winning the Europa League following consecutive Premier League defeats.
For Arsenal, it feels as if normal service has been resumed. That is not to say they have rediscovered the carefree, devastating football of old. Instead it means that, on a chastening night in Wolverhampton, they presented the very worst version of themselves: leaderless, lifeless, utterly unresponsive to adversity.
Narrow wins at Watford and Napoli suggested that maybe, just maybe, they had arrested two seasons of woeful away form. But such a resounding 3-1 defeat to an excellent Wolves team…
Pep Guardiola’s men prevailed 2-0 in the Manchester derby to put them within sight of back-to-back Premier League titles.
ESPN FC’s Craig Burley was left deeply underwhelmed by Manchester United’s latest defeat to title-chasing Manchester City.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany and Leroy Sane speak after their side moved to the top of the table with a derby win over Manchester United.
MANCHESTER, England — Manchester City have played 27 games in 2019 and walked off the pitch as winners after 25 of them. They have not fallen behind in a Premier League fixture since the end of January and they are on course to end the season with 98 points.
Yet most of the talk in this title race has centred on the unbreakable spirit of Liverpool.
City, perhaps because they set the bar so high last season by amassing 100 points, have found themselves slipping under the radar due to the drama…
An inch perfect finish from Christian Eriksen helped Tottenham fortify their hold on third place and denied 17th place Brighton a much needed point.
Frank Leboeuf explains how Christian Eriksen’s qualities have put Tottenham in a comfortable position in the top four race.
Things were getting so desperate for Tottenham against Brighton that, as the minutes ticked by with the score 0-0, Vincent Janssen was brought on for his first appearance since August 2017. Still no breakthrough came, though, and it looked like Mauricio Pochettino’s side would drop points in their quest for Champions League qualification.
But then Christian Eriksen took charge.
Tottenham’s most valuable player — not their best, but their most irreplaceable — collected the ball with 88 minutes…