Juventus bought Cristiano Ronaldo to improve their chances of winning the Champions League, so when they were knocked out by Ajax, many considered his first season with the Bianconeri to be a failure. However, since joining Juventus, his general performances have been far better than those in his final couple of years at Real Madrid, even if his goals-to-games ratio hasn’t been as prolific.
During his final years at the Bernabeu, he completely changed his game. He featured less in…
When the first half ended in Real Madrid’s Champions League meeting with Club Brugge on Tuesday night, Thibaut Courtois made his way off the pitch, the whistling loud in his ears and everyone else’s too. Real were losing 2-0 and the goalkeeper who had conceded twice headed down the tunnel, into the dressing room and straight to the toilet, where he was sick.
Dizzy, disoriented and unable to carry on he was replaced by Alphonse Areola as Real battled back to draw 2-2. Courtois’ dad drove him home…
There are different paths to beating your opponent in a football match. You can outrun them, and you can outmuscle them. You can out-will them, and you can outwit them. All of the above are probably more satisfying to a coach whose job is to prepare, condition and motivate his players. After all, it shows they’ve done their job well.
From a neutral’s perspective, the most pleasing is when the margin between defeat and victory is down to technique (maybe with a smattering of smarts and a dollop…
Alejandro Moreno believes that Marcus Rashford needs to develop an elite striker’s mindset to improve at Manchester United.
Moyes’ run as Man United boss didn’t last too long even though his original contract only just expired. Truth is, they’d be no worse off if he was still there.
The David Moyes era at Manchester United didn’t last long and yet, it just ended.
You know the details by now. Sir Alex Ferguson retires as the most successful British manager of all time. He hand-picks his successor before he leaves, tipping his fellow Scotsman to be the club’s next longtime steward. After taking Everton from relegation-fighter to Champions League qualifier, Moyes makes the move to United and brings Marouane Fellaini along with him.
Moyes bans fish and chips from the Carrington….
Craig Burley and Stevie Nicol say Nicolas Pepe looks like "a flash in the pan" after failing to live up to the hype so far at Arsenal.
Arsenal romped to their second win of the Europa League group stage with a comfortable 4-0 victory …
Christian Pulisic has only played in one of Chelsea’s last five games, but Steve Nicol isn’t hitting the panic button yet.
Chelsea delivered a European boost when Willian’s well-timed right-footed volley on 77 minutes earned Frank Lampard his first Champions League points as Blues boss.
The former midfielder’s tactical tweak saw Reece James and Marcos Alonso adopt wing-back roles while Cesar Azpilicueta, Fikayo Tomori and Kurt Zouma made up a back three that fooled Lille, who simply couldn’t cope with the Blues’ initial width and control when in possession.
Lille benefitted from Chelsea’s poor zonal marking to draw…
Liverpool survived a major scare to record their first Champions League points of the season with a 4-3 win over Red Bull Salzburg in a breathtaking encounter at Anfield.
The Reds raced to an early lead after a delightful exchange between Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino before Andy Robertson turned home Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross and Mohamed Salah made it 3-0 from close range. But Hwang Hee-Chan’s powerful strike hauled Salzburg back into the game, and the visitors were level within…
Steve Nicol breaks down Eden Hazard’s slow start at Real Madrid and how he can turn it around.
Real Madrid’s uneven start to the campaign continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw against Club Brugge at the Santiago Bernabeu. The Belgian side led 2-0 through an Emmanuel Dennis brace, but a revived Real were able to snatch a point in the second half courtesy of headers from Sergio Ramos and Casemiro.
Positives
There was a nice, quick passing movement through the middle and, at times, Real were able to carve the visitors open at will. When they were seemingly down and out at half-time, they…
On the flight back to Paris from Bordeaux on Saturday evening, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe were sat next to each other. While some on board were sleeping (or trying to), watching some shows on Netflix or playing the new Mario Kart game on their phones, the two best friends were messing around, playing music and dancing. You could almost hear them laughing all the way back to the capital.
What’s important here isn’t that Neymar was on the plane with Mbappe, but that the Brazilian’s happy and enjoying…
MANCHESTER, England — Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden came off the bench to hand Manchester City a 2-0 win over Dinamo Zagreb at the Etihad Stadium.
The Croatian side did well to restrict City to just two but second-half goals from Sterling and Foden ensured a club record fifth consecutive Champions League home win. With the result, City top Group C with two wins from two.
City squandered a host of chances in the opening 25 minutes and had to wait until Sterling’s introduction after half-time for…
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