Football’s memory is short, particularly when it comes to national sides. The most successful resemble club teams in that they have a core of players and a clearly defined style of play. There’s always an in-form player around whom a clamour develops, but continuity is just as important, perhaps even more so, in the international … Read more
France may have claimed a famous 42-27 victory, but in the moments after the match Fabien Galthié was too furious about the injury suffered by Antoine Dupont to take great pleasure in his side’s win over Ireland. Dupont was forced off the pitch in the 30th minute after Tadhg Beirne collapsed on to his knee … Read more
Manchester United’s bid to retain the Women’s FA Cup moved another step closer to Wembley as they saw off second-tier Sunderland to progress to the semi-finals despite a nervy spell in the final 20 minutes. Having been 2-0 up and seemingly calmly heading into the last four, United conceded a bizarre goal to allow Sunderland back into … Read more
The Premier League’s middle is where the juice remaining in the season is likely to be squeezed from. On Saturday night the Gtech was a grindhouse, two teams with Europe on their mind, scratching and scraping at each other. For Unai Emery, playing Champions League football while aiming to return to the top five resembles … Read more
Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature 22 mins: I’ll try not to mention Cunha’s absence too much. But it could be quite significant tonight … we’ll see. Share 21 mins: Agbadou v Beto is turning into a titanic tussle – definitely one to watch as this game … Read more
All of Scotland’s brilliance and a lot of those familiar failings. Scotland, it cannot be denied, underscored once again their status as second only to France in attack. But even with a 27-point cushion midway through the second half, they contrived to make life uncomfortable for themselves against a clearly inferior side. Wales managed to … Read more
Bayern Munich wasted a two-goal lead in front of a home crowd to slump to a 3-2 Bundesliga loss to Bochum, but second-placed Bayer Leverkusen were unable to take advantage, going down 2-0 at home to Werder Bremen. Bayern, who beat Leverkusen 3-0 in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday, looked to be … Read more
One of the problems with sport, imported from heartwarming mid-90s books about Man Feelings and their attendant movie adaptations featuring Colin Farrell looking sad in a hoodie, is the idea that football in particular has something to tell us about life. In many ways this is correct. It’s just that the things football has to … Read more
Nostalgia ain’t what it used to be. “In my day” will be offered as advice until the end of time itself. Twas ever thus. Punditry is, by nature, viewed through the prism of the past. Glance into a Premier League press room on match day, the thickened waistlines and/or greying hair of former heroes will … Read more
The England squad went to cookery school during their training camp in York this week. They were given all the ingredients to make a steak dinner and let loose in the kitchen. Some followed the recipe to the letter, others made things up as they went along and it is not too much of a … Read more