Real Madrid and Spain legend Raul Gonzalez has given his opinion on Vinicius Jr. being whistled at by fans at the Santiago Bernabeu last night during the game against Inter Milan.One of the main talki...
Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!There are, you suspect, quite a few folk with links to the London postcode of N17 who would be thoroughly grateful if Troy Parrott could stop popping up to score winning goals for a bit. The Republic of Ireland striker has barely unpacked his bags at Real Betis, yet he’s already ruined the afternoon of his former manager at Tottenham, pouncing to sink José Mourinho’s Real Madrid. Four days later? He made headlines again on his Bigger Cup debut at Lille. Two games, two goals, two match-winners. Not entirely shabby for a lad who was once given the classic Mourinho treatment and declared “not ready”. Mourinho, as ever, remains a central character in this particular soap opera. It was the Special One who handed a teenage Parrott his Premier League debut in December 2019, throwing him on during a 5-0 win over Burnley. It was also Mourinho who promptly decided the youngster needed a fair bit longer in the oven.Re: Ken Muir’s letter (yesterday’s Football Daily letters) and mention of Arbroath’s famous 36-0 victory over Bon Accord in 1885. On the same day, in the same competition and just 18 miles away, Dundee Harp defeated Aberdeen Rovers 35-0. Arbroath and Harp were rivals and after the final whistle, officials from Harp sent a telegram to Arbroath simply containing the result of their match and then retired to a pub to celebrate their world record. Later that evening, a reply was received which read ‘Arbroath 36-0 Bon Accord’. Both sides thought the other was winding them up. The results were not a surprise. Rovers and Bon Accord were both playing only their third official fixtures. Bon Accord arrived for their match with nine players and no goalkeeper, so played an outfield player in goal and two spectators made up their XI. The Aberdeen Weekly News reported that Arbroath’s keeper ‘neither touched the ball with hand or foot … but remained under the friendly shelter of an umbrella the whole time’. Arbroath also had seven goals disallowed. Unsurprisingly, the qualification rules for the Scottish Cup were changed for the following season” – Jamie Gaukroger.Call me one of those bluffers and chancers with ‘fantastic theories and philosophies’ if you will but, after sitting through the chaotic mess that was Real Madrid v Inter in Bigger Cup, two things spring to mind. Firstly, if Madrid has had an obvious gap of no central midfielder who can control the momentum and flow of the game for over two seasons, since Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, why ignore it yet again but spend £115m on yet another left-sided attacker? Secondly, even if you don’t have one, never mind two of those types of players, once you go 2-0 up in the 23rd minute against a team at home, can’t you just kick the ball five-10 yards to a teammate consistently, keep possession and tire the opposition out? As the late, great Johan Cruyff used to say: ‘As long as we’ve got the ball, they’re never going to score’” – Noble Francis.OK, Mike Wilner (Monday’s letters), I’ll bite. ‘What isn’t what it is?’ Football Daily is not a humorous teatime newsletter. ‘What has a club not won what it won?’ Senegal did not win Afcon. ‘When does a team not lose what it’s lost?’ USA USA USA ... did not lose Folarin Balogun against Belgium in the GWC. Is there a plausible weeklong riff here? Oh, yes. Yes there is. There most certainly is” – Chi. Continue reading...
Rasmus Hojlund has scored in Napoli’s last two matches (Picture: Getty Images) Former Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has warned Arsenal they will face a ‘special’ atmosphere in Napoli on Wednesday night. The Champions League got underway for the season this week and an eye-catching tie on Wednesday sees the Premier League champions travel to Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Having reached the final of the competition last year and started their league season with three straight victories, it is no surprise that Arsenal are fancied to do well in Italy. Napoli have not had such a good start to their campaign, losing two of their first three Serie A games. Sign up for In The Mixer, Metro's football newsletter Get exclusive analysis and previews of the biggest games every Friday. Sign up now for free. Hojlund recognises what a challenge Arsenal will bring with them, but feels his side has a very useful weapon in its…arsenal. In a recent interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, the Dane said: ‘They won the Premier League, and played in the Champions League final after winning their group. ‘They have a strong and very deep squad, with many qualities, but the first Champions League match at the Maradona is always special. Hojlund hopes to keep up his goal-scoring run when Arsenal come to town (Picture: REUTERS) ‘I remember last year, we started well with my first brace for Napoli. We need to play really well, be ready.’ Hojlund did indeed score twice in a 2-1 win over Sporting in Napoli’s first home game of the Champions League last season. He has also started this campaign in good form, scoring in each of the last two Serie A games, although his team lost both. On the feeling of scoring at the iconic Maradona stadium, he said: ‘It’s beautiful. The stadium is special, the fans are fantastic and make themselves heard. I’d like the stands to be closer, but the passion is still strongly felt from the pitch, and it’s fantastic.’ Rasmus Hojlund had a difficult spell at Manchester United (Picture: Getty Images) The 23-year-old also addressed his two-year spell at Manchester United, which went reasonably well for one season, scoring 16 goals, but tailed off badly in the second and led to his departure. ‘I don’t think anything specific went wrong,’ he said. ‘I arrived at a club with a manager [Erik ten Hag]: it was a difficult year, with many injuries, but we won the FA Cup and I was the top scorer. ‘Then we went through a difficult period and [Ruben] Amorim arrived, an excellent coach but with a different playing style. The team had to adapt, and it was complicated. We all struggled. ‘My first year was a success, the second wasn’t. But I played in the Europa League final; if we had won, it would have been a different story. That’s football: sometimes it goes well, other times it goes badly, but I’m very happy to have played for the club I dreamed of as a child.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
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