A confident first step on the path to life after Lionel Messi gave Barcelona hope of quickly finding their feet in his absence. But Athletic Club refused to bow to the Catalans without a fight. Stifli...

How do you replace a talisman at such short notice? This question has stumped many, but Ronald Koeman took one small step to surmounting the loss of the greatest of them all. As the collective took on...

On the basis of the first half hour, Chelsea looked to win the Super Cup. But write off the Yellow Submarine at your own peril. The second face of the same coin proved far more troublesome to manage t...

If football was played out on paper, PSG were the outstanding favorites to take the three points on the opening matchday of the Ligue 1 season. Alas, in a sport that pits collectives against each othe...

Wembley Way, a fanatic home crowd, and an early goal seemed to put England on their way to banish the demons of the past. Alas, winning a game of football means being in the fight for the long haul, a...

Staging the FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium has given many an immortal status in the game. Roberto Mancini knows this only too well: etching his name into the history books in 2011 with Manchester City,...

The reignition of an age-old rivalry promised a spectacle between two advocates of a new school approach. But amid over two hours of entertainment, old habits died hard. The masters gave a lecture of ...

Everyone remembers the EURO 2012 final, where the Spanish golden generation won a third trophy in a mere four years. But as one mission came to an end, another had begun. From then on, Italy swore its...

Eight minutes in, Spain looked well on their way to slide into the last four of EURO 2020. But dominance of the ball and territory alone does not win games. A familiar lack of penetration around the S...

Many novel trends at the turn of the 2010s have become more mainstream concepts as the years have passed. For better or for worse, one such idea is defending with five men at the back. In this piece, ...