Key events
We’re back under way at Dortmund, the home side on the attack immediately with Nwaneri – who replaced Karetsas – swinging a shot just wide of the far post.
“This Liverpool fan finds it heart-warming to see former Reds Trent Alexander-Arnold and Curtis Jones squaring off at the Bernabeu,” writes Peter Oh. “The former’s Spanish language skills are well-documented. Can Jones match his compatriot with some seriously sexy, Scouse-inflected Italian?”
This also works the other way – in the mid-80s, Jan Molby became famous for his Scouse-inflected English.
“Greece have a golden generation?” begins Niall Mullen. “Presumably they are on the blower to Bobby Martinez as we speak.”
Ha! As it goes, I don’t think Belgium were quite good enough to win a tournament, but Portugal ought to have been and didn’t even get close. How he got that job in the first place I’ll never understand.
GOAL! Leyton Orient 1-2 Bradford City (Humphrys 58)
Bradford have come from behind to lead, but I looked away from my phone and at my fingers to check my typing just as the goal was shown. Gah, etc.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-0 Middlesbrough (Strand Larsen 53)
A cross from the right and a centre-forward’s header, the kind of goal we saw a lot of in the 80s but of which see a lot less now.
I got some chicken soup going earlier; it’s coming along famously, thanks for asking, and i want to eat the air in my house.
Champions League half-time scores
Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Villarreal
Porto 0-0 Man City
Lille 2-1 Real Betis
Real Madrid 2-0 Inter
Gosh, Madrid almost finish it, Calhanoglu carelessly giving the ball away to Mbappe near halfway and out on the left. He screeches towards goal as Calhanoglu goes his best to get back but he buys the sway in so is left by the sway out – quite a few seconds he’s had there – and though Martinez tips away the low shot that comes across him, Bellingham is on-hand to tap home the rebound. Except, somehow, Martinez saves again – though the finish needed lift or power, that is behaviour as sensational as his second-goal contribution was dunderheaded – and the ball loops just shy of Diaz’s stretch at the far post. Half-time.
Inteer win a corner, in it comes, Martinez is up … but it flicks off Huijsen’s head before he can make contact, meaning his header flies over the top. That’s a right touch for the defender – he knew nothing about it.
Our League Cup half-times:
Bournemouth 1-0 Lincoln
Palace 1-0 Boro
Orient 1-1 Bradford
Sunderland 0-0 Hull
Millwall 0-0 Newcastle
Surely we’re getting at least one shoot-out out of these?
Inter have played well tonight and, since going 2-0 down, they’ve fought hard to get back into things. But they’ve not managed a goal and you have to think they need one before the break if they’re to make a game of this.
It’s still Porto 0-0 Man City, but the visitors are on top.
Excellent work from Jones inside the Madrid box, back to goal. After good work from Lautaro and Augusto, he feints one way, turns the other, and swishes a rising shot which clips the outside of the near angle.
GOAL! Lille 2-1 Real Betis (Alexsandro Ribeiro 36)
Perrin’s outswinging corner is a goodun and Alexsandro meets it well, leaping high to loop a header back the way the ball came.
Talking of West Ham, they’re drawing 2-2 at Bolton after just 38 minutes while, in our League Cup matches, Leyton Orient took the lead against Bradford but were quickly hauled back, and that match is 1-1 at half-time.
GOAL! Lille 1-1 Real Betis (Bartra 33)
A short corner doesn’t work but the ball then goes back out to Fornals, of West Ham fame, whose cross is teased in towards the penalty spot, where Bartra meets it on the run, planting a fine header into the net.
Greece, by the way, might just have a golden generation on their hands. Generally speaking, this means high expectations and no success, but don’t be surprised if they’re a factor at the Euros.
Giannis Konstantelias, Dortmund’s other Greek player, is already sidelined for some time with an ACL tear; let’s hope Karetsas isn’t badly hurt.
Rank news for Dortmund, who lose Karetsas to a non-contact injury. It didn’t look serious, but it didn’t look great either, and he’s replaced by Ethan Nwaneri.
Inter give the ball away and Vinicius streaks away, sliding into the middle where Diaz touches off for Mbappe .. but before he can control, Bisseck slides in to pretty much everything you can without giving away a penalty. I’d like to see it again, but I’m not certain he got the ball.
John Toshack once said that 90 minutes in the Bernabeu is a long time. Inter may be about to find out what he meant.
GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Inter (Valverde 23)
Goodness me, what a mess. Josep Martinez in the Inter goal takes a pass from Pavard and decides away from home in the Bernabeu is where to show off his crafty drag-back. So he does, so Fede Valverde slides in, mugging him while he’s mugging himself off, and that is near enough curtains – after 23 minutes in which Inter have been the better side.
Also missing from Madrid’s midfield: a controller. I don’t know, the game changes, of course, but the team which won multiple Big Earses had both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Vini is sent bouncing through the middle but Pavard times his challenge beautifully, sliding in to avert the danger.
Email! “Let’s all hope that Inter win in controversial fashion just for the post-match quotes,” says Michael Meagher. “From last Friday: ‘The Betis players are more streetwise than the Madrid players, who are very honest.’ Don’t ever change José!”
The Madrid players are also kind to small animals and fond of jigsaw puzzles.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Middlesbrough (Strand Larsen 37)
Palace badly need a win, any win, so will be glad to be ahead.
Diaz is late on Martinez, lunging only to find he[s been chopped; free-kick Inter, on the edge of the box, and Calhanoglu will fancy this. He drills past the wall on its inside, but straight at Courtois, who again prangs to safety.
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Inter (Mbappe 14)
Caurtis jones looks to carry out of pressure but turns into trouble, poking to Bisseck and putting him under immediate pressure. His touch is really poor, Diaz prods forward, and Mbappe finishes with prejudice. Inter have started well, but they’re behind.
Madrid’s midfield doesn’t just lack balance, it lacks a controller, and Lautaro strides through it, ignoring the support to shoot low from 20 yards. Again, though, Courtois parries.
GOAL! Lille 1-0 Real Betis (Ueda 12)
Lovely work from Mbappe down the right, who chops inside, sending his man skidding off to who knows where. before gently curling a cross to the back post where, from a few yards out, Ueda can’t miss.
I’d love to know what part of Madrid’s talent ID department watched Konate at Liverpool and thought yeah, him. Maybe they thought he’s a coach away from making the most of his physical gifts, but at 27, I can’t see it. What am I missing?
Beier goes down the left for Daortmiund and opens body to pass a terrific low ball through the corridor. Guirassy launches himself at it, but his slide arrives just a little bit late.
I don’t think the Madrid midfield is balanced, a particular problem given the unreliability of the centre-backs behind it; I’m a little surprised Mourinho isn’t relying on Rudiger, whose power, aggression and experience might be useful and who considers his boss his “footballing father.”
In Dortmund, Villarreal’s Comesana teases a ball into the box, but Oluwaseyi can’t impart any purchase on to his header.
Inter have started well and Lautaro pokes the ball wide then, when it comes into the middle, a deflection sits it up for Thuram, who wallops it with his laces … but straight at Courtois, who parries behind. The corner comes to nowt.
It’s probably me, but I find it amusing that, on their website, Uefa have gone for B. Dortmund, like it’s someone’s name. My dad always felt hard done by not to be given a middle name; I hope they’re bearing up.
And off we go in Madrid.
I’m watching Madrid v Inter, Dortmund v Villarreal and Millwall v Newcastle. Niall McVeigh has you covered for Porto v Man City.
A moment is taken to remember those who died in the awful floods in Nepal. Godspeed.
I guess the existing structure was pretty special, so it didn’t need much work beyond the modernisation, but even so, they clearly did an outrageously good job. Camp Nou, on the other hand, was just a concrete bowl with, in some parts of the ground, plastic sets dumped into stone; there’s a lot more work to do making that good.
Our teams are out in our various grounds, thus a question: I’ve not yet been, but is the Bernabeu the best ground refurb we’ve seen?
Right, we’re back. Ryan Christie has given Bournemouth the lead against Lincoln.
My computer is playing up so, to ensure we’re not interrupted once our feature games get going, i’m going to restart; see you on the other side in a few.
Our Carabao Cup fixtures are:
Bournemouth v Lincoln City
Crystal Palace v Middlesbrough
Leyton Orient v Bradford City
Millwall v Newcastle United
The first three kick-off at 7.45, so in a minute from now, the fourth at 8pm.
Villa have won 3-2 at Brugge, and looked pretty good in so doing. Nicolas Jackson played really well, and strikes me as an Unai Emery type of player: underrated but, if he can sort out his major flaw, that being shooting, he can grow into a really serious striker. Everything else is in place.
So, where is the game? Once upon a time, what Madrid did was largely up to Madrid players, but under Mourinho, it ain’t going out like that. Against a back three, the space tends to be behind the wing-backs and down the sides of the outside centre-backs, so I’d expect to see Dumfries and Alexander-Arnold ganging up on Bastoni and dragging him away from the middle, while Cucurella and Vinicius do the same on the other side, freeing up space for Mbappe and whichever of Bellingham and Valverde are box-crashing.
Inter, meanwhile, will want their wing-backs targeting the space Madrid’s full-backs vacate, with their two up front looking to take advantage of Konate and Huijsen’s respective impetuousness and inexperience. This could be a really fun game.
Inter, meanwhile, look solid. They’ve won three from three in Serie A, and will, I think, look to clutter the centre of the pitch. That’s another reason I’d like to have seen Diomande on from the start, but Mourinho has – unusually for him – done without a defensively-minded midfielder. I’m looking forward to seeing how Curtis Jones does, as I think he’s a good player who’ll thrive with regular selection and greater responsibility. And there’s no disputing the danger Inter offer up front; I don’t fancy either Madrid centre-back against Thuram and Martinez.
Our main focus here, though, will be on Madrid v Inter. Mourinho’s men lost at Betis last weekend, and are without the suspended Eduardo Camvinga, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler. As such Trent Alexander-Arnold comes in on the right of the central three – a move I doubt Aurelien Tchouameni likes all that much. I can’t say I think Alexander-Arnold is much use in that position – as Gary Neville once noted, most right-backs are failed midfielders – but he’s capable of creating something from nothing. I guess I’d quite like to see Yan Diomande on the right, but i’m not surprised Mourinho wants the extra body in midfield that Brahim Diaz can become.
Brugge have pulled a goal back against Villa – they now trail 3-2. Elsewhere, meanwhile, it’s AEK 1-0 LASK in what internet bores are calling the Upper Case derby.
There’s a lot to dig into there, right? It’s always interesting when new managers take over established teams, because chances are they’ll see things differently from their predecessors. City, for example, are now playing 4-2-3-1, not 4-3-3, and it doesn’t seem like Enzo Maresca fancies Rayan Ait-Nouri. Otherwise, Ayyoub Bouaddi makes his first start – he’s alongside Enzo Fernandez in a double pivot which lacks a bit of p&p – and a front four of Samenyo, Cherki, Foden, Haaland looks not bad.
Let’s have some teams…
Borussia Dortmund (3-4-2-1): Kobel; Gadou, Anton, Svensson; Ryerson, Sabitzer, Veerman, Beier; Karetsas, Nmecha; Guirassy. Subs: Drewes, Meyer, Bellingham, Chukwuemeka, Nwaneri, Fabio Silva, Kaua Prates, Inacio, Albert, Reggiani.
Villarreal (4-4-2): Gulácsi; Mouriño, Pau Navarro, Renato Veiga, Sergi Cardona; Buchanan, Gueye, Saliba, Comesaña; Oluwaseyi, Mikautadze. Subs: Luiz Junior, Ruben Gomez, Logan Costa, Freeman, Alassane, Gerard Moreno, Alberto Moleiro, Akhomach, Carlos Macia, Pepe, Ayoze Perez.
**
Porto (4-3-3): Diogo Costa; Varela, Perez, Kiwior, Alberto Costa; Rosario, Martim Fernandes, Veiga; Gomes, Silva, Pepe. Subs: Claudio Ramos, Joao Costa, Hwang, Sainz, Gimenez, Souza, Fofana, Cunha, Silva, L.Gomes, Moura.
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi Gvardiol; Bouaddi, Fernandez; Semenyo, Cherki, Foden; Haaland. Subs: Bettinelli, Rulli, Anderson, Ndiaye, Kovacic, Ait-Nouri, Reis,Allan, Khusanov, McAidoo, Lewis.
**
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Courtois; Dumfries, Konate, Huijsen, Cucurella; Alexander-Arnold, Valverde, Bellingham; Brahim Diaz, Mbappe, Vinicius Junior. Subs: Lunin, Sergio Mestre, Endrick, Tchouameni, Carreras, Carlos Espi, Rudiger, Diomande, Thiago Pitarch, Jorge Cestero, Mario Rivas.
Inter (3-5-2-): Martinez; Pavard, Bisseck, Bastoni; Diouf, Barella, Hakan Calhanoglu, Jones, Carlos Augusto; Lautaro, Thuram. Subs: Di Gennaro, Provedel, Stankovic, Stones, Zielinksi, Sucic, Luis Henrique, Bonny, Mkhitaryan, Akanji, Esposito.
And the race for the County Championship is intensifying.
There’s a classic in progress at Flushing Meadow…
Niall McVeigh has the build-up from Oporto…
Goodness me, there’s a lot going on. In Bruges, Villa are going nicely…
Preamble
On 16 September 1987, Diego Maradona’s Napoli travelled to La Quinta del Buitre’s Real Madrid to play a first round, first leg match of the European Cup. Madrid won 2-0 with the return at the San Paolo drawn 1-1, meaning elimination for I Partenopei, gone from the competition almost before they arrived.
Silvio Berlusconi was not impressed, unhappy to lose one of the favourites were so early and also unwilling to risk similar happening to AC Milan, the club he owned. So he propagated the idea of a European super league and, though it never came to fruition, a spooked Uefa caved anyway and, five years later, the Champions League came into being.
But that was not enough, because it never is. First, it was more than one team from the richest countries – that’s now up to five in some cases – and now it’s the Swiss model format, which takes the Berlusconi rationale to it’s natural conclusion: lots of lucrative matches between the richest teams, without the jeopardy of elimination. Gabriel Hanot, who came up with the original idea of continental competition, would be crying bitter tears this very day, while the rest of us have no choice but to enjoy Real Madrid v Internazionale.
Which, of course, is ridiculously easily done, football a victim of its own nonpareil. There’s no shortage of interest in seeing whether José Mourinho, handed his latest last chance, has finally rediscovered the magic of his old self, while former acolyte, Cristian Chivu, is freshly installed at Inter, where his old boss did perhaps his best work
Nor is that all. We’ll also enjoy Dortmund – and, in particular, Konstantinos Karetsas, the 18-year-old midfielder who’s made a brilliant start to life at the Westfalen – against Villarreal, with updates from Porto v Manchester City and Lille v Real Betis. Quite what any of it means is unclear, but who needs context when you’ve got millions of eyeballs obsessing over potentially brilliant football?
And, on top of all that, we’ll keep you apprised of all the goings-on in the League Cup, so crack a can of Crypto, dip into your packet of energy, and settle in.
Kick-offs: League Cup 7.45pm/8pm BST, Champions League 8pm BST