“The last time Inter visited Barcelona for a Champions League semi-final, back in April 2010, the night teemed with fascinating subplots. It begs the question: has a match ever contained this much narrative? There was the backdrop of Inter’s Icelandic ash cloud-affected first-leg victory, simmering ideological and personal antipathy between Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, the Samuel Eto’o-Zlatan Ibrahimovic swap deal, the Milito brothers on opposing sides, and the very of-its-time dilemma of how to fit Lionel Messi and Ibrahimovic into the same team. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
74 passes and one shot: Breaking down Inter’s 2010 Mourinho masterclass vs Barcelona
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“Arsenal face a trip to the French capital next week with a one-goal deficit after losing at home to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final. Just like the tie against Real Madrid in the quarter-final, the Emirates crowd created a raucous atmosphere before kick-off for their side’s first Champions League semi-final in 16 years. But Ousmane Dembele put PSG in front after four minutes to quieten the home support with his 25th goal in 2025. …”
“The title is within touching distance for 
“Last weekend, Pep Guardiola spent 15 minutes standing on the Goodison Park turf, long before his Manchester City players came out for their pre-game warm-up. ‘I remember when I was a little boy,’ he said later of Goodison, ahead of Everton’s move to their new home at Bramley-Moore Dock this summer. ‘Today, I watched the (stadium big) screen with goals from Gary Lineker and said, ‘Wow, this is English football’.’ In Spanish, Guardiola might be known as a ‘mitomano’ — somebody quick to idolise, generally, a person. In his case, it is footballers, but also stadiums and competitions. He would watch English football on television when he was a youngster in the Catalan town of Santpedor. Not that many games were available on television in the 1970s and 1980s, but he obviously saw enough for some core memories to form. …”
“Newcastle United’s long wait for a trophy ended under Wembley’s arch just as evening was descending, the sun disappearing and, with it, 70 years of domestic strife. Mid-March’s victory over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final marked the end of seven trophyless decades on Tyneside (the 1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup excluded) and, with it, perhaps, the beginning of something else. As black-and-whites on the pitch and in the stands celebrated the end of an unwanted era, one emblem of their new era stood front and centre. Yasir Al-Rumayyan, club chairman, made his way onto the pitch and held up the trophy. He is also the governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), Newcastle’s majority shareholder. …”
“Liverpool’s Dutch connection has led the club to the brink of glory. Arne Slot is on course to become only the fifth manager to win the title in his debut Premier League season. Virgil van Dijk is close to making history, as the first player from the Netherlands to captain a team to England’s top-flight crown. Ryan Gravenberch has sparkled since being 
“There was a time, not all that long ago, when Tottenham Hotspur were routinely highlighted as the Premier League’s best-run club. And by not that long ago, we mean last August. Fair Game, a campaign group for improved football governance, placed Spurs as the highest-ranking English club in their 
“Just over a week ago, a new part-owner of fifth division team Dagenham & Redbridge appeared on 
“It feels like there’s a wave of negativity across English football at the moment, not merely concerning the soul of the game — an evergreen concern — but more about the quality and style of what we’re watching. This is despite the Premier League being almost unquestionably the world’s best league, certainly when judged on the average standard of team, if not necessarily on those at the top of the division. Besides, recent seasons have produced record-breaking goals-per-game figures in the Premier League era and while a higher number being scored in itself is not automatically entertaining, it’s surely preferable to the reverse. …”
“You see the bus at the stop. It’s just over there. You can obviously make it. You quicken your step. As you do, you hear the engine start. The doors fold closed. You could sprint for it — you’re fast enough — but the idea is unappealing. The sweat, sure, but also just the indignity of it. You don’t need this bus. There will be others. The doors reopen. Someone else is now getting on. It’s extremely makeable now, you could probably just jog. But something stops you. You have already committed to not going for it, your nonchalance now non-negotiable. It could linger there for 20 or 30 more seconds for all you care. You’re walking slowly, you’re missing that bus and that’s the end of the matter. …”
“At the end of the first half of extra time against Lyon, the TV cameras caught Ruben Amorim with his tactics board out. You might not be far wrong if you believed that the board merely had one straight line on it, bottom to top, indicating for Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire to move to centre-forward, and little else. ‘We’re probably short on attackers,’ 
“When Virgil van Dijk is mentioned in the pantheon of great Premier League defenders, it occasionally comes with a caveat. Yes, he has the trophies, the class and the longevity that are the traditional hallmarks of all-time greats. But has he always been confronted by the very best? Football has changed and even before his emergence at Liverpool it was said that the classic No 9 was disappearing from the game. Van Dijk has not had to deal with an Alan Shearer-type, a human cyclone who would wear his opponent down, going one-to-one, testing them physically as much as technically. …”
“Historically, Bayern Munich have always had the upper hand over Inter at San Siro. In their previous four competitive matches in Milan, the German side were victorious in each one of them. That’s why Harry Kane’s opener in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie gave the impression that history might be repeating itself. …”
“Tonight’s trip to Chelsea, in all probability, will be the 16th and final European game of Legia Warsaw’s season. A 3-0 first-leg deficit in the Conference League quarter-finals has left a mountain to climb, and the adventures of Poland’s biggest club will likely end at Stamford Bridge. UEFA is too diplomatic to publicly celebrate any club’s exit, but parting with the perennial bad boys at least rids their disciplinary department of a long, nagging headache. …”
“The cyclical nature of tactical evolution in football means that when something is in vogue, it’s only a matter of time before everyone catches up. The increased focus on attacking corners in the Premier League in the last couple of seasons — accompanied by the rise of set-piece specialists — correlated with a hike in the number of goals scored from corners. However, the defensive aspect of corners is equally important. The recent threat of attacking corners in the Premier League has logically been followed by a focus on defending from corners. Has it worked? …”
“Aston Villa are out of the 
“Time can make fools of us all. Even supercomputers. Barring some sensational results in the quarter-final second legs this week, there are probably only five teams left who can win this season’s 
“It’s been a breathless start to the game. After conceding inside the first two minutes, France Under-21s lead 2-1 against an England side who have just hit the post. Enzo Millot, the France captain, picks up possession midway inside his own half and sweeps a lofted pass out to the right. Only Rayan Cherki knows why he chose to do what he did next. …”
“Declan Rice stunned Real Madrid with two brilliant free-kick goals to help 
“Three games, three days and three degrees of desperation, a tragical misery tour that leads from Suffolk to London and on to the East Midlands. Roll up for a relegation road trip featuring Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City, clubs promoted to the Premier League last season and now going, gone and almost certainly going, who have found the promised land to be harsh and infertile. …”
“Just when you think you’ve seen everything that football has to offer, along come Ipswich Town. Amid another morale-sapping defeat that all but sealed their relegation from the Premier League, Ipswich, with a little help from their opponents, Wolverhampton Wanderers, served up the maddest two minutes of Premier League action you are likely to see this season. A backpass, a mistake, a save, a free kick, a melee on the goal line, a thudding shot and a point-blank block… there was nothing technically proficient about any of it, but it was memorable. Are you not entertained? 
“Anthony Elanga scored a thrilling solo goal to tighten Nottingham Forest’s grip on a surprise Champions League place next season and leave Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United side languishing in 13th in the Premier League. The former United forward covered 85 metres of the City Ground pitch in nine seconds, taking seven touches, the last of which was a shot past Andre Onana to give Forest the lead after five minutes. United, like many teams against Forest this season, had plenty of possession but Diogo Dalot hit the crossbar and Ryan Yates blocked well from Alejandro Garnacho and they could not find a way to level the scores, with Murillo also clearing the ball off the line from Harry Maguire at the death and celebrating in style. …”
“There has been little to cheer about for supporters of Southampton Football Club this season. Southampton were promoted back to the Premier League last summer at the first time of asking via victory over Leeds United in the Championship’s play-off final, but it has not been a happy first campaign on their return to the English top flight. They’ve only managed two league wins in their 29 games, sacked the manager who brought them up, Russell Martin, in December, are on a nine-match losing streak at home and have conceded 70 goals, which, unsurprisingly, is more than any other top-flight team. …”
“… It is the first weekend of Norway’s football season and, inside the stadium of Oslo’s biggest club, the stand where Valerenga’s most boisterous supporters congregate is 
“Early morning Basque sunshine is threatening to break through. Take the first turning off the main road and you will come across Real Union’s bar, tucked into the corner of their stadium. Inside, gentle music is playing as a couple of locals enjoy a coffee. The artificial pitch used for training is opposite and Real Union’s first-team players have started to trickle out for today’s session. It is here, in the province of Gipuzkoa, where Aston Villa manager Unai Emery’s footballing foundations were formed. Real Union play in Irun, a sovereign community of just over 60,000 in the Basque Country, about a 25-minute drive east of San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa’s capital, and four kilometres from Emery’s family home in Hondarribia. …”
“With the Premier League title race and relegation battle seemingly wrapped up before April, you might think there is little peril remaining in the final weeks of 2024-25. Fear not. Any thrill-seekers need only look as far as the race for Champions League spots, with as many as seven teams still fighting to dine at Europe’s top table next season. Liverpool, Arsenal, and Nottingham Forest have separated themselves from the remaining pack at the top of the table but based on the latest UEFA coefficient standings, fifth is enough for a place in the 2025-26 Champions League. One more win for any of the five English sides remaining in a European competition this season should confirm that additional spot in the continent’s top tournament. …”
Scissors Kick 