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Nights like this sum him up – Jack Grealish hails City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne
Nights like this sum him up – Jack Grealish hails City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne
Jack Grealish feels like Kevin De Bruyne was made for the Champions League after the Belgian’s vital semi-final strike for Manchester City at Real Madrid. De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser as the Premier League leaders claimed a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their last-four tie against the holders at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night. Despite dominating a lot of the early play, City were trailing to an equally brilliant Vinicius Junior goal when De Bruyne rifled home from distance after 67 minutes. His screamer left the tie delicately poised ahead of next Wednesday’s return leg at the Etihad Stadium. Grealish said: “We all know what a guy Kevin is and what a brilliant player he has been for this football club. Nights like this are just made for him and sum him up really. “City fans can’t count how many times he’s scored important goals, got important assists. “It must have meant a lot to him and obviously I’m buzzing for him.” City outplayed Real, who are bidding to win the European Cup for a record-extending 15th time, as they dominated possession in the opening half-hour but they were caught out by Vinicius’ wonder strike after 36 minutes. The Brazilian let fly from from 25 yards after good work by Eduardo Camavinga and City needed to retain their composure in a difficult atmosphere to get back into the game. They were rewarded when De Bruyne replicated Vinicius’ heroics but Real also had their moments of dominance in a hard-fought second half. With both goalkeepers making good saves, the outcome remains very much in the balance. “Everyone knows what the Champions League is like,” Grealish said. “It’s a brilliant competition – brilliant players, brilliant stadiums and brilliant teams. “That was their first attempt, when they scored the goal. It was a great strike, there probably wasn’t much we could do about it, but we hung in there. “It was great mental strength from everyone to carry on playing, carry on trying and in the end Kev came up with an absolute worldie. “We came here to win the game, that’s what we wanted to do, but in the end I think the draw was probably was a fair result.” Treble-chasing City can ill-afford to ease up ahead of the return encounter, with a testing trip to relegation-threatened Everton at the weekend. With the Toffees fighting for survival, it is likely to be a different type of encounter and the Premier League leaders will be determined to pick up points to hold off Arsenal in the title race. It is a challenge Grealish is relishing. “I feel unstoppable at the moment,” the 27-year-old said: “You’re looking around, playing with these guys that are unbelievable. “And the fans are brilliant, every home and away game. I’m sure we’ll need them at Goodison Park at the weekend and, of course, the Etihad next Wednesday, which we’re all buzzing for already.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Sergio Busquets calls time on ‘unforgettable’ Barcelona career Manchester United ‘eye double swoop’ for Goncalo Ramos and Declan Rice ‘We feel unstoppable’: Jack Grealish bullish ahead of Champions League ‘final’
2023-05-10 18:28
Look back at Gothenburg Greats as Aberdeen mark 40th anniversary of European win
Look back at Gothenburg Greats as Aberdeen mark 40th anniversary of European win
Aberdeen celebrate the 40th anniversary of their European Cup Winners’ Cup triumph over Real Madrid on Thursday. The club and city council are honouring the players, who will be awarded the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen in a ceremony on Friday. Here, the PA news agency looks back at the ‘Gothenburg Greats’ – the 12 players who took to the field under Sir Alex Ferguson at the Ullevi Stadium to beat Madrid 2–1 after extra-time in 1983. Jim Leighton – Followed Ferguson to Old Trafford in 1988 before ending his career at Pittodrie in 2000 following spells with Dundee and Hibernian. Scotland’s most-capped goalkeeper with 91 international appearances, he had two spells as Aberdeen goalkeeping coach before leaving football in 2015 to work in the oil and gas sector. Doug Rougvie – The imposing full-back moved to Chelsea in 1984 and spent three years at Stamford Bridge. Rougvie, who won his sole Scotland cap against Northern Ireland in 1983, later played for Brighton, Fulham, Shrewsbury, Dunfermline and Montrose and managed the latter as well as Huntly and Cove Rangers. Rougvie’s departure from Cove in 1998 spelled the end of his football career and he became an engineer. Now retired, he splits his time between Scotland and Spain. Alex McLeish – The centre-back spent all but a handful of games of his playing career with Aberdeen, with whom he won 12 major trophies. He joined Motherwell in 1994 as player-manager and later took charge of Hibernian, Rangers, Scotland twice, Birmingham, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, Genk and Egyptian side Zamalek. His final managerial role ended with Scotland in 2019. He won eight major trophies, including the League Cup with Birmingham and two promotions as a manager. The 64-year-old appears as a TV pundit. Willie Miller – The skipper had a long association with Aberdeen, managing them from 1992-95. Miller later joined the Pittodrie board and had a spell as director of football and has been a pundit with BBC Radio Scotland for a number of years. John McMaster – The midfielder, who played left-back in Gothenburg, spent 15 years at Pittodrie before leaving in 1987 to play for home-town team Morton for the final year of his career. McMaster became assistant manager at the Greenock club and later scouted for the likes of Middlesbrough and Swansea. He worked in market research and now delivers corporate talks on leadership. Gordon Strachan – Left for Manchester United in 1984 where he would later be reunited with Ferguson. Was football writers’ player of the year in both Scotland and England and won the league with Leeds before ending his playing days and starting his managerial career at Coventry. Took Southampton to the FA Cup final before a successful spell with Celtic and then managed Middlesbrough and Scotland. Now technical director at Dundee. Neale Cooper – The only one of the team who is not still here for the 40th anniversary celebrations, Cooper died aged 54 in 2018 after a fall at a block of flats in Aberdeen. Just 19 when he won the European trophy, Cooper had made his debut in 1979 and went on to play for the likes of Aston Villa and Rangers before a second spell at Pittodrie. He was a popular manager at the likes of Ross County and Hartlepool. He later took up a corporate position with Aberdeen club sponsors Saltire Energy. Neil Simpson – A key player for the Dons until a series of injuries hampered his progress. He left the Dons in 1990 and had spells at Newcastle and Motherwell but could not recapture his form. The midfielder took up coaching after retiring and returned to Aberdeen in the youth set-up in 2001, where he remains to this day as pathways manager. Peter Weir – Ferguson went back to former club St Mirren to sign the talented winger, who later played for Leicester and then the Paisley club again before finishing his career with Ayr. Weir went into coaching and spent 10 years in charge of Aberdeen’s youth academy centre in Glasgow. Mark McGhee – Another who returned to Pittodrie, as manager in 2009, but the spell was not among his happier times in management. McGhee left the Dons for Hamburg in 1984 and also played for Newcastle, Celtic and Reading, where he made a flying start to his career as a boss. Also took charge of the likes of Wolves, Leicester, Brighton and Motherwell – and was Strachan’s assistant with Scotland – before ending his career with Dundee last year. Eric Black – The striker opened the scoring in the final and went on to play for Metz in France before a back injury forced him to retire at the age of 27. He was John Barnes’ assistant manager at Celtic and had spells in charge of Coventry and Motherwell, the latter ending when the club went into administration. He went back to being a coach under the likes of Steve Bruce with his clubs including Birmingham, Sunderland, Rotherham and Aston Villa. Black turned his back on football after leaving Southampton in 2017 and the 59-year-old now sells furniture with his son in Leamington Spa. John Hewitt – The attacker had already been branded ‘super sub’ for his goals off the bench during Aberdeen’s run to Gothenburg and he lived up to his nickname by heading an extra-time winner after replacing Black. Hewitt left for Celtic in 1989 and spent several years with St Mirren before a short spell in coaching as player/manager of Dundalk and Rougvie’s assistant manager at Cove. The 60-year-old now works in the oil and gas sector in Aberdeen and recovered from a heart attack earlier this year. The unused substitutes were goalkeeper Bryan Gunn, injured full-back Stuart Kennedy and midfielders Andy Watson and Ian Angus. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Arsenal to play five Women’s Super League games at Emirates Stadium next season Sergio Busquets calls time on ‘unforgettable’ Barcelona career Nights like this sum him up – Jack Grealish hails City team-mate Kevin De Bruyne
2023-05-10 18:20
DraftKings PGA Promo Unlocks $150 GUARANTEED for $5 Bet on AT&T Byron Nelson
DraftKings PGA Promo Unlocks $150 GUARANTEED for $5 Bet on AT&T Byron Nelson
If you haven’t tried it yet, golf is one of the most exciting sports to bet on!Picking a winner out of a field of dozens of contenders at crazy odds is an exhilarating feeling and DraftKings Sportsbook is guaranteeing that you walk away a winner (with $150 in bonus bets) if you sign up and...
2023-05-10 18:17
Arsenal to play five Women’s Super League games at Emirates Stadium next season
Arsenal to play five Women’s Super League games at Emirates Stadium next season
Arsenal will play five Women’s Super League games at the Emirates Stadium next season and are committed to hosting all Champions League fixtures there should they qualify for the group stage. Jonas Eidevall’s side have played three WSL fixtures at the stadium this season, setting a new league attendance record when they beat neighbours Tottenham 4-0 before selling over 86,000 tickets across matches against Manchester United and Chelsea. Five of their Women’s Champions League games were also staged at the Emirates, including the semi-final second-leg sell-out against Wolfsburg, which saw the German side win in extra-time. Arsenal are in a tussle to qualify for next season’s Champions League but, if they do progress, every fixture from the group stage onwards will be hosted in N5 rather than at Meadow Park. The successes of this season have built on a groundswell of support for women’s football following on from England’s Women’s Euro victory last summer. Now, Arsenal are keen to continue the trend of hosting more games at the Emirates, with Eidevall saying recently he believes it would be possible to host all women’s fixtures there at some point in the future. This latest announcement ensures that as many supporters as possible can enjoy the matchday experience with us Vinai Venkatesham “We’re delighted to confirm that our women’s first team will play five WSL games at Emirates Stadium next season,” Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said when the announcement was made on Wednesday morning. “We’ve received fantastic support at Emirates Stadium this year, setting a new record attendance in the WSL and achieving a memorable sell-out for our recent UEFA Women’s Champions League semi-final against Wolfsburg earlier this month. “This latest announcement ensures that as many supporters as possible can enjoy the matchday experience with us, as we continue to support the sustainable growth of women’s football.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-10 18:15
Barcelona confirm Sergio Busquets to leave at end of season
Barcelona confirm Sergio Busquets to leave at end of season
Barcelona have confirmed that club captain Sergio Busquets will leave on a free transfer this summer, with clubs in Saudi Arabia and the USA interested in his signature.
2023-05-10 17:56
Barcelona great Sergio Busquets calls time on ‘unforgettable’ career at Nou Camp
Barcelona great Sergio Busquets calls time on ‘unforgettable’ career at Nou Camp
Midfielder Sergio Busquets will leave Barcelona this summer, ending an 18-year association with the club. The 34-year-old, who joined the Catalans’ youth team in 2005, made his first-team debut in 2008 but has decided to move on after turning down the offer of a new contract on reduced terms. “The time has come to announce that this will be my last season with Barca,” he said in a farewell video released by Barcelona. “It has been a unforgettable journey. I always dreamed of playing with this shirt and at this stadium and reality has exceeded all my dreams. “I wouldn’t have believed it you if you had told me when I arrived as a youth player that I would play 15 seasons at the best club in the world and surpass 700 matches. “It has been an honour, a dream, a source of pride and meant everything to defend and represent this badge for so many years. “Although it has not been an easy decision I think the time has come.” Busquet, whose 718 matches for Barcelona put him third on the club’s all-time list of appearances, has won eight league titles – soon to become nine – three Champions Leagues, seven Copas del Rey, seven Spanish Super Cups, three European Super Cups and three Club World Cups. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live
2023-05-10 17:56
Car-obsessed OnlyFans star gets own back on 'sexist' men who don't 'take her seriously'
Car-obsessed OnlyFans star gets own back on 'sexist' men who don't 'take her seriously'
A petrolhead OnlyFans model reveals “sexist” men don't take her seriously in the motoring world despite her vast knowledge of cars and garage filled with supercars. Bonnie Locket from Cheshire has spent over £1 million on her obsession throughout her life, with her latest purchase, a Lamborghini Aventador, costing £350,000. The 35-year-old influencer, who shares her passion for fast rides on social media (@bonnielocketdrives), recently hit the headlines after getting steamy with her husband in the backseat to celebrate the purchase. The model, who earns between £150,000-£250,000 per month, started the car-focused Instagram page after deciding it was a necessary aid to boost her OnlyFans page. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter But despite her lifelong interest in fast vehicles, Bonnie often has to deal with "sexist comments" from men online who assume she knows nothing. "There are so many people that say 'get her out the car scene',” the model told Nude PR. “It's not very nice and I’m fed up of sexist men. “But I suppose that's what you get from going into a male-dominated niche. "I certainly don't know everything about cars, but I know a lot. "It's nice to be able to educate myself further, as well as get other people involved. “There are trolls out there but I try to ignore them because I know it’s only because I'm a woman that I even get those kinds of comments." In the real world, Bonnie has faced some prejudiced interactions with men too but reveals her enthusiasm for cars wins them over more often than not. She said: “Whenever my husband and I go out in the car or attend car shows, if people don’t know who I am they presume it’s his car, but he always turns around and says ‘actually it’s my wife’s car’ - they’re always shocked! “When I was looking for my first supercar I wasn’t taken seriously at all, I would look round the showrooms and you could tell they were thinking I was either taking the piss or dreaming. ”Now when I walk into a showroom they know I mean business, I bought my last four cars from George at GVE London and I’m a very loyal client of theirs. “I’m always treated impeccably well and they always give me a great reveal, my last reveal of my G wagon and Twin Turbo SY Roadster are on my YouTube channel and it was a wicked party. Despite the lack of support from some men online, Bonnie insists she remains unfazed and has even come up with a cunning trick to use the hate comments to boost her user engagement. @bonnielocketdrives That last pop tho 😮💨😮💨 #fyp #bonnielocket #cartok #cars She said: "I pretend to play dumb when writing captions - like saying a car is a ‘beautiful supra when it’s actually an evo' baiting men into leaving comments. “But I think people are catching on, it’s quite obviously a joke.” For Bonnie, her love of cars started at an early age, after her three older brothers would regularly take her along to car shows and the model revealed her parents have even owned supercars throughout their lives. She said: "My brothers have always been well into cars and modding them. “One brother had a Skyline and my mom, who is now 70, has an Evo ten, another brother has a Ferrari and I had my first supercar at 27. "My brothers would always take me out in their cars and drive really fast with me and as a kid I just absolutely loved it. "Cars have been a huge thing in our family, whenever I got a new car, I'd go home to show them. "Brad, my husband, is a petrolhead as well, so every year for our anniversary, he takes us to the car show, Festival of Speed." Being a woman has its advantages in the car world too, as Bonnie finds she is able to create content men would struggle to produce. She said: "I don't know if a guy could get away with doing what I do – like when I go up to people at car shows and get them to rev their engine and things like that. "It is really fun and people at these car shows don't always get to hear what the car sounds like because they're static shows. "My TikTok has really blown up in the last week from when I did my first show, displaying my own car at Petrol Hedonism – I probably had 20 million views this week.” “I’ve attended three car shows in the last few weeks and I’m at car shows most weekends, it’s going to be an amazing summer. “It’s really exciting to show the world my car - it’s the only Twin Turbo SV roadster in the world so I’m really proud to be able to bring the car for everybody to see here in the UK.” Over the years, the car-obsessed model has owned a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Jaguar XKR, Mercedes AMG GTS, a Ferrari California T and now owns an SV Roadster, a Lamborghini, which she Twin Turboed and an AMG G63. But her Lamborghini, at 1400 horsepower, is the fastest car she's ever owned, and now Bonnie is setting her sights to racing. She said: "I would like to do drag racing and I would also like to build a drift car and start doing drifting. "I did a drifting day with girl called Jolene McDonald aka Jojo, she's one of the best in the country at drifting and really respected – that was really fun. "I wanted to do it with a woman, there are so many people who aren’t very nice about women being on the car scene." For Bonnie, showing her interest in cars online is not solely a way to boost her OnlyFans but also to set up a new career, for when she eventually says goodbye to the world of racy content. She added: "One of the main reasons I'm doing it is to be able to get out of OnlyFans. "It's great that it's bringing traction to my page but ultimately that isn't actually why I'm doing it – I'm actually doing it to exit the game and it is a huge passion of mine. "Brad is super proud of me but he cannot wait for me to stop doing OnlyFans, purely because of the comments online. "It really affects him because he doesn't understand how people can be so unbelievably nasty. "Also I want to have a baby and I don't really want to be pregnant while doing it. "Ultimately I can't do this forever and cars are something that I really enjoy.” Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
2023-05-10 17:51
Rakuten and JUBF Host
Rakuten and JUBF Host "World University Basketball Series 2023" in Tokyo This August, Bringing Together World-Class University Teams from Across the Globe
TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 10, 2023--
2023-05-10 17:49
Erling Haaland’s father escorted out of Bernabeu after confrontation with Real Madrid fans
Erling Haaland’s father escorted out of Bernabeu after confrontation with Real Madrid fans
While Erling Haaland experienced a quiet night on the Bernabeu pitch, the Manchester City striker’s father Alfie Haaland was escorted out of a Real Madrid hospitality box after a confrontation with the home fans. A viral video displayed Alfie Haaland having a discussion with a Real Madrid fan before goading others by cupping his ears and waving towards them while leaving the VIP area. The reaction came in the aftermath of Kevin de Bruyne’s equaliser in the 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final. A number of security officers and police quickly escorted Alfie Haaland and another man away from the corporate box, with the Norwegian later clarifying the situation. “OK. Real Madrid was not happy we were celebrating Kevin de Bruyne’s goal,” Alfie Haaland confirmed on Twitter. “Other than that we had to move because Real Madrid fans not happy with 1-1.” Alfie Haaland, a former Manchester City player, now serves as his son’s agent and regularly attends City matches to offer his support. The result puts City in a strong position heading back to the Etihad for the second leg next Tuesday. And Jack Grealish insists Pep Guardiola’s side have learned from last year’s heartache. “We have a new team this year, different players,” the England midfielder told BT Sport: “We’ve learned so much since last year. Now we have the perfect balance of experience and a few youngsters who are just world-class. “I think we just have quality and I’ve never felt so confident going on to the pitch and having these players around me. “Within ourselves at the Etihad, we feel unstoppable there. We came here to try and win, but it shows our character to go a goal down – it’s always difficult to play at a place like this. “In the end I think it was a fair result. They had their chances, we had a few as well.” Read More Player ratings from Man City’s first-leg comeback against Real Madrid Manchester City’s treble bid coming of age with unbeaten run Is Vinicius the best player in the world right now? Real Madrid star’s brilliance has elevated the debate Analysing Man City ‘unstoppable’ form as they go for treble attempt The best player in the world right now? Vinicius brilliance has elevated the debate I know Pep Guardiola - and this is why Man City will win the Champions League
2023-05-10 16:56
Analysing Manchester City ‘unstoppable’ form as they close in on treble attempt
Analysing Manchester City ‘unstoppable’ form as they close in on treble attempt
Manchester City’s 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu in the Champions League semi-final first leg with Real Madrid took their unbeaten run to 21 games. Pep Guardiola’s side are unbeaten since early February, with 17 wins and four draws, as they peak in familiar fashion for the end of the season and a potential trophy treble. Here, we look at their seemingly unstoppable form. Treble chase City are chasing glory on three fronts, looking to emulate the feat of winning the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League in the same season achieved by local rivals Manchester United in 1998-99. Thirty-seven points from the last 39 available have helped them haul in long-time league leaders Arsenal, leading by a point and with four games remaining to the Gunners’ three. They have beaten their title rivals twice in that time, 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium and 4-1 back home a fortnight ago. Improbably, relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest are the only side to take a point off them in that time after Chris Wood’s late equaliser. Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Newcastle, Crystal Palace, Liverpool, Southampton, Leicester, Fulham, West Ham and Leeds are their other victims, with 36 goals scored in those 13 games and 10 conceded. Their other draws have come in the away legs of their three Champions League ties, all 1-1 against RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich and Real. The home legs against the two Bundesliga sides saw Leipzig beaten 7-0 and Bayern 3-0, while in the FA Cup they beat former City captain Vincent Kompany’s Burnley 6-0 and two other Championship sides, Bristol City and Sheffield United, 3-0 to set up a Manchester derby in the final. Such form in the run-in is nothing new to City, who won last season’s league title by a point after finishing with a 12-game unbeaten run including nine wins and also won their last 14 in succession to pip Liverpool to the 2018-19 title – as part of a domestic treble. Hot-shot Haaland leads the way Erling Haaland is unsurprisingly City’s top scorer in the current run with 20 of City’s 61 goals. That includes back-to-back hat-tricks against Leipzig – with an astonishing five goals – and Burnley, helping him past a half century for the season while he has a record 35 for a Premier League campaign. Kevin De Bruyne’s stunner against Real was his seventh goal of the run while Haaland’s sometime deputy Julian Alvarez has six. There have been five apiece for Riyad Mahrez, who scored a hat-trick in the FA Cup semi-final against the Blades, Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan. Twelve City players in all have scored, in addition to an own goal from Bournemouth’s Chris Mepham. “We feel unstoppable” Winger Jack Grealish spoke after the draw at the Bernabeu of his confidence of reaching the Champions League final, based on City’s formidable home record. “Within ourselves at the Etihad, we feel unstoppable there,” the England international told BT Sport after playing his part in a feisty first-leg encounter. His view is borne out by the statistics, City winning all 11 home games in their current run with 40 goals scored and just five conceded. That sequence at the Etihad extends to 15 straight wins since their New Year’s Eve draw with Everton and 17 unbeaten since losing to Brentford in November. Away from home, since the Tottenham defeat, City have won six games and drawn four, scoring 21 goals and conceding eight. Read More ‘We feel unstoppable’: Jack Grealish bullish ahead of Champions League ‘final’ The best player in the world right now? Vinicius brilliance has elevated the debate Kevin De Bruyne is Man City’s man for the big occasion but has he met his match? Player ratings from Man City’s Champions League first-leg comeback at Real Madrid Perfect moments help Man City and Real Madrid set up thrilling encore Jay Rodriguez revels in ‘surreal’ promotion as Burnley celebrate title
2023-05-10 16:20
Why Kevin De Bruyne's equaliser at Real Madrid should not have stood
Why Kevin De Bruyne's equaliser at Real Madrid should not have stood
Why Manchester City's equaliser at Real Madrid in their 1-1 draw during the first leg of their Champions League semi-final should have been ruled out.
2023-05-10 16:17
Is Vinicius the best player in the world right now? Real Madrid star’s brilliance has elevated the debate
Is Vinicius the best player in the world right now? Real Madrid star’s brilliance has elevated the debate
If Real Madrid-Manchester City has become that most modern of Champions League fixtures, this latest meeting showcased a vintage European Cup quality. It is that moment of true quality that comes out of almost nothing and can change almost everything about a tie. Both teams suffered from it on Tuesday. Both teams benefited from it. It did feel telling that two goals of the highest level came as their sides were enduring their most difficult periods of the game, but in this case more about the players responsible than the teams. This competition is not just about deciding the champions of Europe, after all. That pursuit instead often elevates the greatest player in the world, and it was victory that for so long decided the Ballon d’Or. There is now an opening there as the Lionel Messi-Cristiano Ronaldo era fully comes to an end, and Vinicius Junior is clearly one of those most willing to fill it. And with full speed. This is a player who has added such a complete range of abilities to that devastating pace. The nature of that first goal was testament to that, another jaw-dropping moment that was also one of those which reflected a player moving to another level. This wasn’t just scorching through a defence to side-foot it past a keeper - if such brilliance can even be described in that muted way - in that way Vinicius marked his early career. It was a strike hit with full confidence and power, that showcased a player growing into his game and his true qualities. It was a little like when Messi went from beating defenders and sliding the ball past goalkeepers to suddenly smashing in all range of strikes, if that is obviously not to directly compare the Brazilian to probably the greatest player of all time. There is a greater question now of who compares to Vinicius. He may well be the most effective player in the world right now, if not the very best. Kylian Mbappe still feels like he has a pure football level beyond anyone else but, as a global audience experienced a moment like that, it’s hard not to again wonder if he feels he is wasting himself in a league that isn’t really watched. The French star at this point has a few relevant games a year. Vinicius is making people take note almost every week. There is then their counterpart in sky blue. This time, however, it wasn’t Erling Haaland. For all the focus on Norwegian’s goals, there have been moments this season where it has felt like he’s been in a mutually beneficial competition with Kevin De Bruyne to be City’s best player. This was most true in the 4-1 victory over Arsenal, but the Belgian clearly won here. The goal was one of those essential interventions that characterises the career of great players, that step-up with something above anyone when it is most needed. And at the most exacting stage. Haaland may have leapt above his teammate in those discussions, but this was one of those games where it can least be understood why people say he is a great goalscorer rather than necessarily a great player. That isn’t a criticism, or even to say it’s actually true, but he was more at the fringes of general play here in that way that can happen. Madrid will know not to get complacent on that, though. The truth is that David Alaba and Toni Rudiger had to work extremely hard to limit his impact. It just left that space for De Bruyne, which sets up the second leg. Guardiola described it as “a play-off” as well as a final, but indicated he will seek to do something different in terms of tactics. This was a rare game where, even though City of course had more of the possession, they didn’t have full control of the game and probably weren’t the better team. “We try to adjust something for the second leg to be a bit more fluid, play with a bit more rhythm,” Guardiola said. This has the feel of one that is going to be decided by those margins. Two of the best players already indicated that. Read More Perfect moments help Man City and Real Madrid set up thrilling encore Kevin De Bruyne is Man City’s man for the big occasion but has he met his match? Is AC Milan vs Inter on TV? Kick-off time, channel and how to watch Champions League semi-final AC Milan are back – but not as how you remember them The Milan derby crowns Serie A’s return - here is why it means so much more AC Milan vs Inter predicted line-ups: Team news ahead of Champions League semi-final
2023-05-10 15:23
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