Football

After the first round of matches I must say that I was surprised at the level of the Dutch team. Germany also looking solid. France are Portugal quite disappointing. I'd still put Spain in the position of favourites to win the entire thing though. They just have too much quality in their squad.

The Guardian's preview and prediction for the upcoming Nations League matches are once again an entertaining read.

All matches from QF onwards hosted in Saudi Arabia, single leg (new format this year)

Leverkusen channel the spirit that carried them to the title last season and turn a match around in extra time. While it's probably too late to mount a renewed title challenge, Leverkusen confirm their place as Germany's second team.

It feels surreal that José's first season in England is now twenty years ago. I still remember it as if it were just a few months ago. At least it is somewhat reassuring that, despite all the changes that took place in that time, José has remained essentially the same.

An interesting analysis of Chelsea's difficulties and especially about the role of Enzo Maresca. What I found particularly interesting was this piece of analysis:

"6.Each kicker can kick the ball only once. Once kicked, the kicker may not play the ball again. The decision on a re-kick is solely at the referee's discretion."

Sanfrecce Hiroshima won the first leg 6-1, but were found to have fielded a player who was serving a suspension in Asian competition due to his actions at his previous club. It was turned into a 3-0 win for Lion City Sailors, who managed a 1-1 draw at home in the second leg. Just AFC things.

Alternate angle: https://fmkorea.com/8125223116

While the tie already felt decided after the 3:0 win in the first leg, a win on aggregate of 5:0 for Bayern really cements the German pecking order that had been disturbed last season. Obviously missing Florian Wirtz is not ideal, but Leverkusen really did not look like turning the tie around at any point, in my opinion.

I don't think there's ever been a manager who described his team as: "We are the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United."

Oh my fucking god! Are you stupid? Does Samir Shah even like football? WTF?

Jonathan Wilson elegantly describes why many, myself included, have been falling out of love with modern football, little by little. The best part of the article describes it really well, in my opinion:

Although this is most likely not at all a political decision, it's great to see Liverpool go for a European kit provider. It's only fitting that Europe's (arguably) currently strongest team will play in outfits designed and provided by a European company.

United unexpectedly managed to get a draw from their match against Arsenal. Ruben Amorim had announced that his team "just need to survive" before the match, following Arsenal's thrashing of PSV in the Champions League earlier in the week. Surprisingly, survive they did and even took a point from the currently second best team in the League.

cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/36423536

For more talks about CF Montréal in French AND English, you can join us here: https://lemmy.ca/c/cf_montreal

Amorim’s ideal striker for his system, as communicated to those in the industry, is one who runs in behind repeatedly, and inevitably there is speculation around a reunion with Viktor Gyokeres, who is expected to leave Sporting CP after this campaign.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6060673/2025/01/29/mathys-tel-manchester-united-transfer/

cross-posted from: https://lazysoci.al/post/21593425

Funny how this comes out just after another massive weekend of mistakes.

Manchester United has welcomed the announcement of government support for the project to regenerate the area around Old Trafford. In a statement on Saturday evening, The UK Treasury said Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, was championing the Old Trafford project as “a shining example” of the government’s plans to promote economic growth.

Translation:

Mikel Arteta plays samba music during training to lift Arsenal mood. After painful draw with Aston Villa, manager sets up big speakers and plays hits such as ‘Mas Que Nada’ to enliven squad before Dinamo Zagreb clash.

Full Quote: “I’ve absolutely NOT decided to leave Real Madrid… I hope to stay for FOUR more years, same as president Florentino Pérez”. “That would be perfect in order to do a big farewell together in 2029!”.

Serie A standings