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Hello! I’ll have whatever Federico Valverde’s been drinking.
Coming up:
Touch of class: Valverde starts City rot with incredible first goal
Real Madrid versus Manchester City is ubiquitous in the Champions League, a fixture contested 16 times, but familiarity isn’t breeding contempt, nor is the match-up losing its sting. You can’t get too much of a good thing.
Federico Valverde owned the latest installment last night, and one gorgeous touch from the midfielder was all it took for City to unravel like a ball of string. The Bernabeu loves to see Pep Guardiola sweat, those skirmishes with his Barcelona team so fresh in the memory. It’s rarely seen him suffer like this.
Valverde, equally, has never bossed so emphatically before: a maiden career hat-trick (and a truly exceptional one — we’ve broken the whole thing down here) at the perfect time for Madrid. Yesterday was the first time in a long time that Madrid invoked beast mode, oozing the untouchable swagger they often reserve for European football. Everything that crossed Valverde’s path turned to gold.
City started well, and Nico O’Reilly missed two huge chances late in the game, but they were outplayed in all the ways that mattered. Everything turned on a stroke of genius from Valverde in the 20th minute, his lush piece of control (above) taming a high clearance from Thibaut Courtois and taking him past O’Reilly down the right. From there, he danced around Gianluigi Donnarumma and slotted the ball into an empty net. City’s reaction was to lose it and melt.
Valverde scored again seven minutes later, a sharp shot across Donnarumma, and then pulled another deft piece of skill out of the bag, lifting a chip over Marc Guehi before volleying in (below). It didn’t matter a great deal that Vinicius Junior wasted a second-half penalty. Pep’s expression looked like the north face of the Eiger, and while we shouldn’t put it past City to magic something from 3-0 down in Manchester next week, it’s a long way back from here.
Are holders Paris Saint-Germain rediscovering beast mode themselves? They were given a game by Chelsea in the French capital yesterday — held at 2-2 until the latter stages — but their unforgiving streak in the final 16 minutes was what took them to the title last year.
Filip Jorgensen had his own Antonin Kinsky moment (our goalkeeping expert, Matt Pyzdrowski, has analysed Kinsky’s midweek torment today), inviting a third PSG goal with a sloppy error in possession, duly punished by a brilliant chip from Vitinha. From there, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did his thing, scoring twice to all but put the tie to bed. Pedro Neto got himself in trouble late on by stupidly pushing a ball boy.
Premier problem?
It’s funny to think that not so long ago, The Athletic was asking whether English clubs were finding the Champions League too easy. All of those left standing in it have failed to win their first leg in the last 16. Arsenal took a 1-1 draw from Bayer Leverkusen, but only after a late penalty from Kai Havertz. None are flying as dreamily as upstarts Bodo/Glimt, who took Sporting CP to the cleaners in Norway last night. A 3-0 advantage lets them smell the quarter-finals. How far can this odyssey go?
Iran threaten boycott: Sports minister casts doubt on World Cup participation
Iran — both the men’s and women’s teams — are front and centre of football’s agenda at the moment. We’ll start with the men’s squad, because their World Cup place is more questionable than ever this morning.
Doubt has circled their participation at this summer’s tournament since the United States and Israel launched military strikes on the country this month. Iran’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, cut to the chase yesterday by warning that in the current climate, “under no circumstances do we have the conditions to participate in the World Cup”.
Whether that means Iran won’t attend when push comes to shove is another matter, but his remarks are upping the ante. And as for how FIFA would theoretically replace them, there really is no precedent. Long story short — the world governing body can pretty much do what it likes.
Iran’s women’s side, meanwhile, are in a serious predicament of their own after several players defected in Australia at the end of their Asian Cup campaign. Others are travelling home to face whatever awaits them there. Jacob Whitehead put together a definitive read on the events of the past week, a timeline of clandestine meetings, tapped mobile phones, and harrowingly tense escapes. It’s an outstanding read, it’s incredibly scary, and it’s well worth your time.
News round-up
- Fresh from failing to sign Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid, Orlando City have sacked head coach Oscar Pareja, the first dismissal of the MLS season. Zero points from three games must have got them spooked.
- They’ve already seen Promise David injure a hip, but the hamstring strain suffered by Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies in the Champions League on Tuesday is a far bigger concern for Canada. There’s no timescale on his absence yet.
- A lobby group representing non-elite clubs in Europe is pressing UEFA to change how it distributes income from competitions such as the Champions League, altering the way close to £4billion ($5.35bn) is shared. Don’t hold your breath, folks.
- Nottingham Forest, in their wisdom, set ticket prices for tonight’s Europa League clash with Denmark’s Midtjylland between £50 and £70. Surprise, surprise, they didn’t sell very well, so adults can now get in for as little as £15. Lesson learned?
Boston boost: Foxboro’s costs of hosting World Cup games will be covered
There can’t have been a World Cup without angst beforehand about things that might undermine the finals or cancel them, full stop. But every edition gets there in the end.
So, no huge surprise that the arguing in Boston over World Cup funding — remember the Town Hall tear-up last week? — has been tackled and resolved. The town of Foxboro, where Gillette Stadium will host seven matches, issued a statement last night saying the estimated costs of $7.8million (£5.8m) were now going to be covered. Crisis averted.
The money hasn’t actually been forthcoming yet, nor has Foxboro issued an event licence for the fixtures, but all sides appear confident that it’s merely a matter of formalities. Foxboro itself doesn’t expect to pay a penny (or at least be landed with a tangible bill).
Gremlins in the pre-tournament works — most of them inevitably resolved in the nick of time — are as much a part of the World Cup as the tournament itself, which is why, when it comes to it, Iran will probably participate. The sooner these finals start, the better.
Around TAFC
- After commitments in the FA Cup and Europe, English sides will be back to the Premier League over the weekend. Arsenal have taken a kicking for their less-than-sexy tactics, but this piece, and the graph above, shows they’re more dangerous in front of goal — and secure in defence — than anyone else. And by a distance too.
- What happens next at Tottenham Hotspur is a question most people there probably don’t want to answer — but The Athletic FC Podcast squad were more than happy to chew the fat. You can listen free and find out how much time, if any, Igor Tudor has left.
- And on the subject of Spurs firing managers, here’s a Tifo Football video on the time Martin Jol (allegedly) got sacked at half-time.
- Manchester United’s debt, as of December 2025, stands at more than £1bn. You read that correctly. Far from going down since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought in, it’s gone up. Our financial wizard, Chris Weatherspoon, cut through some crazy finances.
- Most clicked in Wednesday’s TAFC: Kinsky’s Atletico nightmare, poor lad.
Catch a match
Selected games (kick-offs 4pm ET/8pm UK and Paramount+, ViX/TNT Sports unless stated).
Europa League: Bologna vs Roma; Lille vs Aston Villa; Stuttgart vs Porto (all 1.45pm/5.45pm); Celta Vigo vs Lyon — Paramount+, DAZN/TNT Sports; Nottingham Forest vs Midtjylland.
Conference League: AZ vs Sparta Prague, 1.45pm/5.45pm; Crystal Palace vs AEK Larnaca.
And finally…
You’ll be tempted to file the following story under things that didn’t happen, but we assure you it’s true.
On Tuesday, Barcelona met Newcastle United in the Champions League at Newcastle’s St James’ Park. It isn’t the only stadium in England that goes by that name. Down on the south coast, League One Exeter City play at St James Park (spot the difference — no apostrophe, and none of Newcastle’s mod cons).
So it was that a man — understood to be Spanish — turned up at Exeter with a ticket to see Barcelona, only to learn he was 366 miles away from his intended destination and would have to sit through Exeter versus Lincoln City instead. Having seen both versions of SJP, and seen the glaring contrast, take it from me — the grim realisation must have dawned the moment he pulled up at the gates.