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6 hours ago
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THAT’S A BOOTING
While Barcelona’s night at the Metropolitano was pretty well summed up by the accompanying image of poor Fermín López shipping six studs in the mush, Lamine Yamal’s cross in the buildup should be framed and hung in the Louvre. Using a minimum of backlift, the preposterously precocious 18-year-old had arced the ball directly into the path of the midfielder with the outside of his left boot, only for López to be denied by a splendid Juan Musso save that left the already bandaged Barça midfielder drenched in claret. Had López scored, Barcelona would have gone 3-0 up on the night and ahead in the tie, having already restored parity courtesy of goals scored by Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres in a blistering and blood-drenched opening 30 minutes. Moments later, Charlton Athletic academy graduate Ademola Lookman scored the decisive goal that sent Atlético Madrid into Bigger Cup semi-finals, much to the not entirely surprising delight of their head coach Diego Simeone. “Playing in a [Bigger Cup] semi-final, how wonderful,” he honked before an appointment with Arsenal or Sporting. “We’ll go there with all our enthusiasm and faith. We know our strengths and weaknesses. We’re ready.”
While there is no evidence to suggest that match referee Clément Turpin is descended from his 18th century highwayman namesake, D1ck, that didn’t stop at least one Barcelona player of accusing the French referee of floodlit robbery. While he may not have featured in his side’s exit due to hamstring-twang, Raphinha had plenty to say about officialdom’s most high-profile Leandro Trossard lookalike and none of it was complimentary. “We played really well, but this tie was robbed from us,” fumed the Brazilian after the game. “Not just this match but the other one as well. The refereeing was really bad, the decisions [Turpin] makes are unbelievable. I really want to understand why they’re so afraid that Barcelona will come and win.” Raphinha’s comments are expected to earn him an extended spell on the sidelines, more specifically on Uefa’s naughty step. Precedent suggests he can look forward to at least a three-match ban for intemperate language unbecoming of a frustrated and petulant footballer.
While Barcelona had players sent off in both legs of the tie, neither decision seemed particularly egregious. It was Turpin’s apparent determination not to book a single Atlético player that rubbed the Raphinha rhubarb up the wrong way, while his decision not to award Barça what seemed two clear penalties across both legs also fuelled the Brazilian’s sense of grievance. “You can’t say this match was stolen from them; that’s ridiculous,” honked Musso, as he wiped the blood from the sole of his boot. “They acted as if they should have had three penalties and we should have had four sendings-off. We won on the pitch and when you’re the last man back, you get a red card.” And when you’re the first man forward you get a yellow Adidas Copa Pure 2 Elite boot in the face.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I think these are key moments. It is easy to minimise them and say ‘she is just a coach like everybody else and that is how we have to treat her as colleagues’. But in the end it is something special. It opens a lot of opportunities to little girls who now play football and think ‘I can coach anywhere, make a real career and be successful’. These stories are really important. I wish her all the best and the only part I wish she is not treated like a man, is being patient with her, because the coaching job lacks patience on the leadership level” – Bayern boss Vincent Kompany, not for the first time, finds the right words to welcome Marie-Louise Eta’s groundbreaking arrival at the helm of Union Berlin.
Congratulations to Andoni Iraola for his fine tactics and strategic sense (yesterday’s Cherry Bombshell). Tuesday afternoon, he announces that he’s leaving Bournemouth. Tuesday evening, Liverpool crash out of Bigger Cup. Do you consider this to be a ‘come and get me plea’ or ‘well, you can have me call’ to his potential employers on Merseyside?” – Mike Wilner.
Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. I hope Michael Carrick pulled the hair of his Manchester United players who forgot they were supposed to be playing football against Leeds. The standard was sub-normal to put it politely and, as a Mancunian, I wasted my time and money travelling from Bingley (West Yorkshire) only to return to their territory. Humbug” – Andy Partington.
I’m not convinced that Lisandro Martínez’s dismissal changed anything. Leeds could/should have been at least five goals up when he was red-carded – and Manchester United played far better when he went off. But it speaks volumes for the state of English football (along with VAR, offside, and the handball rule) when a guy can be sent off for touching an opponent’s man-bun, while a forearm jab to the face goes unpunished” – Colin Wood.
I was particularly impressed by your unusual level of accuracy when you commented that Daniel Levy was paid more in 2024-25 than all 64 players and staff of the Tottenham women’s team combined (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Not ‘earned’. Paid. Well said” – Colin Reed.
If you have any, please send letters to [email protected]. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day winner is … Colin Reed. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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