SEÑOR FLORERO GRANDE’S TIME TO SHINE
After Aston Villa shocked the world last week by doing the unthinkable as an English team by winning away in Europe, on Thursday they have the chance of following that up by securing a place in the last eight of the Europa League. The road to Istanbul is paved with claret because they have Unai Emery at the helm, a man who knows a thing or two about winning a second tier competition. Mr Big Vase, or Señor Florero Grande, as he’s known in Spain, has won the competition four times, three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. He failed to do so with Arsenal for a simple reason: their name does not include V-I-L-L-A, which was surely his downfall and why they lost to Chelsea in the 2019 final.
There is almost no way Emery and his Villans are not on an open top bus come the end of May. Lille’s players will leave their cattle behind with some degree of hope but with the irritating feeling that the lack of a V and A within their name will cost them dearly. It is absolutely impossible for the French side to meddle with destiny, Señor Florero Grande is still at the top of his game, not worrying about Big Cup or any of that nonsense, the Premier League is a mere sideshow for what he wants to achieve in life and that is to have a mantelpiece stocked with floral bouquets in ceramics in his Spanish bungalow.
Villa have lost four of their past six games, only scoring five goals in the process but that will not concern Emery, who has lost only once in his past 24 Big Vase outings. “He is a manager who has a reputation of getting over the finish line,” roared captain John McGinn. “We don’t want to be a maybe team, we want something to show for it. We know we’ve got an expectation, we’re one of the favourites to win the competition, we know that.”
Lille still have a 39-year-old Olivier Giroud leading the line, having returned to his homeland following an extended holiday in Los Angeles. Admittedly, he once helped down Emery in Baku to ruin his Gunners Big Vase dreams but history will not be repeated in B6. Lille’s dugout dweller Bruno Génésio has been a head coach for more than a quarter of a century but has never won a jar, let alone a full-blown vase. History and Ollie Watkins on Emery’s side – there is nothing that can stop fate … except maybe a name change.
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Join Scott Murray from 4.30pm (GMT) for updates on Barcelona 2-0 Newcastle (3-1 agg) in Bigger Cup, while Taha Hashim will be at the clockwatch controls for Liverpool 3-1 Galatasaray (3-2 agg) and Atlético Madrid 3-1 Tottenham (8-3 agg).
QUOTE OF THE DAY I
“This is a travesty; this decision is based on absolutely nothing. It has no legal foundation … We will not back down. Senegalese people should have no doubt. The truth is on Senegal’s side, the law is on Senegal’s side” – Abdoulaye Seydou Sow, secretary general of the Senegalese football federation, on Caf’s decision to strip Senegal of the Africa Cup of Nations title and award it to Morocco. Senegal are to appeal to the court of arbitration for sport.
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“The Memory Lane on the pivoting boot [yesterday’s Football Daily email edition] made me laugh when I saw the date. I can remember playing in my village team in the Bedford and district league 25 years or more earlier (as a teenager) when our captain turned up with a pair of boots with a rotating sole. The were called Tufspin made by a company called Tuf, which is still going. So the 1999 boots can hardly be described as revolutionary” – Steve Hall.
If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Steve Hall. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY II
“If we play like this we will go down. If we believe we are down we will be, but I still believe we can get out of it. If we can get our players back we will be OK. We all have to believe though” – Rotherham manager Matt Hamshaw on Tuesday night after a 5-0 defeat to Peterborough left the Millers six points from safety in the League One relegation zone.
“Rotherham United can confirm that the club has parted ways with first team manager Matt Hamshaw” – the club show a distinct lack of belief on Wednesday morning.
“Rotherham United are delighted to confirm that Lee Clark has been appointed as our first team manager on a deal until the end of the 2025-26 season” – on Wednesday afternoon the Millers put their belief in a “vastly-experienced operator” last seen managing in the Sudan Premier League.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel says his career might be over because of a serious shoulder injury. “I’m going to need two surgeries now to fix my shoulder,” he said. “It’s looking like 10-12 months of rehab. I could have potentially played my last ever football game.”
Jérémy Doku says Manchester City’s thoughts have already turned to Sunday’s League Cup final against Arsenal after their Bigger Cup exit. “It’s a good cure,” he cheered. “We’ll do everything to win that game and to win a trophy.”
Meanwhile in Bigger Cup, Arsenal again looked the most competent Premier League side on view, dispatching Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 (3-1 agg) with a bionic Eberechi Eze traction-enginer and a delicate Declan Rice finish. In other Arsenal news, teenage wonderkid Max Dowman can now be represented by his dad and brother after they both acquired their Mr 15% licences from Fifa.
Heading out, though, are Chelsea, who were royally whooped 0-3 (2-8 agg) by PSG at Stamford Bridge, and Manchester City who, as has become traditional, were seen off by Real Madrid at the Etihad. “I would love the club to have the feeling that Madrid has; if you don’t win the Champions League, it’s a failure. That is pressure. But not [at] Man City,” sighed Pep Guardiola afterwards.
Bodø/Glimt’s great adventure came to a heartbreaking end as Sporting scrubbed out their 0-3 first-leg deficit and then added two more in extra time to send the Norwegian side out 5-3 on aggregate. “We always believed that, with the help of this amazing crowd, we would be able to make it,” whooped Maxi Araújo, whose 92nd-minute goal put Sporting ahead for the first time in the tie.
In the Championship, TV’s Wrexham suffered their first negative content of 2026, going down 1-3 at Watford, whose own playoff hopes were boosted by goals from Marc Bola, Edo Kayembe and Edoardo Bove.
Micky van de Ven is not happy with suggestions that Tottenham’s players don’t care as they battle relegation. “People are just making things up and it’s frustrating for us because it brings so much more trouble because the fans are starting to believe this,” roared the defender. “Trust me, all the people involved on the pitch … the staff, the players, everyone … they care so much about the situation we’re in right now.”
Andy Carroll is the new man in charge at Dagenham & Redbridge after the non-league side hoyed boss Lee Bradbury through the door marked Do One. Carroll has been playing for the Daggers since last summer and has a minority stake in the club as part of a new ownership which includes that YouTuber you’ve actually heard of. Carroll’s first match as interim manager is against Neil Warnock’s Torquay in the National League South on Saturday. We’ll see you there.
STILL WANT MORE?
Liverpool may end up getting rid of Slot purely because they cannot think of what else to do, writes Jonathan Liew.
Decision to strip Senegal of Afcon title has left me gobsmacked – and others in Africa furious, reports Osasu Obayiuwana.
What is the earliest an uninjured goalkeeper has been substituted? The Knowledge has the answer.
Eze keeps Arsenal’s shot at history alive with magic moment against Leverkusen, writes Barney Ronay.
Jonathan Wilson on LinkedIn Liam and Chelsea’s PSG humbling.
MEMORY LANE
February 2013: With the League Cup final approaching on Sunday, a trip back to 2013 and one of the more remarkable final lineups in the history of the tournament. Bradford City, on their way to a seventh-place finish in League Two, stunningly reached Wembley thanks to wins over three Premier League sides – Wigan, Arsenal and, in the semi-finals, Aston Villa. In the the final they came up against a fourth Premier League side in the shape of Michael Laudrup’s Swansea: “The small fairytale against the big fairytale,” said the Dane. The small fairytale won out, with the Michu-inspired Swans 5-0 winners.