“Erling Haaland scored against Real Madrid for the first time in his career. And then scored another. But Manchester City still lost at home to the Champions League holders. It will have felt all too familiar for Pep Guardiola and his team as they threw away a 2-1 lead with four minutes of normal time to play at the Etihad, being stung first by one of their former players, Brahim Diaz, and then the tireless Jude Bellingham, who steered the ball home from close range in added time. Oh, and earlier in the game Kylian Mbappe had scored with his shin. …”
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Champions League: Man City have Madrid mountain to climb, are PSG better minus Mbappe?
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“Diego Simeone’s super-charged Atletico Madrid were just too much for Xabi Alonso’s eventually overwhelmed 
A mural of Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke on the approach to the Emirates Stadium
“Before Omar Marmoush was racking up goals and assists in the 
“The 
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“Even now, 20 years on, it is a moment which takes the breath away. Steven Gerrard had no right to score the goal that he himself described as the most important of the 186 he plundered for 
“While they were humbled by an attack-minded Monaco on Friday evening at the Stade Louis II, as 
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“Five games into the new-look 
“The numbers alone are frightening. Viktor Gyokeres has made 25 appearances for club and country so far in 2024-25. He has scored 33 goals. He was top scorer in the Portuguese top flight for Sporting CP last season with 29 goals (eight more than anyone else). He has already scored 16 in the league this season (again, eight more than anyone else) and only failed to score in six of those 25 games in all competitions. He scored nine for Sweden in the recent Nations League group stages. He has scored 67 goals in 69 matches for Sporting since joining from 
“Fairytales continued in the 
“Jhon Duran. Villa Park. Champions League nights. It is a combination that has provided nothing but unbridled joy to Aston Villa so far. 
“It was 
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“The draw for the revamped Champions League league phase is — after what seemed like 
“There’s a tendency to frame football matches in black and white: the winners got it right, the losers weren’t up to the task. But the reality is usually somewhere in between — an individual mistake here, or a shot that hits the post and stays out there, moments that can change the game state and momentum. More often than not, the 90 minutes and more played on the pitch are a shade of grey, and 
“The right to face 
“As the final whistle blew on an action-packed 2-2 draw at the Emirates Stadium last night, many of us reached for our smartphones to check social media. … The decision not to award a penalty left Rio Ferdinand, a pundit for TNT Sports, the British broadcaster of the 
“It was 5.30am and the sun was already rising by the time the last of 
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“Chances are you’ve watched a football match or two in your life. Sophisticated and stunningly handsome subscriber to The Athletic that you are, you’re probably pretty good at it. There’s no wrong way for anyone to enjoy the sport. But when it comes to understanding what you’re looking at, it turns out that trying to follow 22 people all doing a hundred different things to influence which way a ball bounces around the pitch is really hard. Coaches and players (and, in our own dumb way, even journalists) spend whole lifetimes learning to watch games better. Maybe you want to, too. …”
“At the start of Pep Guardiola’s managerial career, he seemed intent on creating the type of team that would have suited him as a player. A slender, technical midfielder who lacked physicality but could spread play calmly, Guardiola’s playing career ended prematurely because football no longer suited his type of player; defensive midfielders at the turn of the century were supposed to be about power and ball-winning ability. …”
Scissors Kick 