Author: Brila

It is hardly the most prestigious of competitions, but the Super Cup appeared to mean a lot to Romelu Lukaku as he prepared to take a decisive penalty in Prague four years ago. Looking back at that moment now, at a player who has since become associated with power, composure and a persuasive air of confidence, it is striking to see just how vulnerable he looked. After nine perfect kicks, with Chelsea 5-4 behind to Bayern Munich in the shoot-out, it was up to the 20-year-old, part of Jose Mourinho’s first-team plans after an outstanding season at West Bromwich Albion, to score and force sudden death. His miss,…

Jose Mourinho naturally couldn’t resist it – but then Zinedine Zidane couldn’t completely reject it. When the predictable subject of Gareth Bale’s future came up, Mourinho offered up a bit of pantomime, and added what the Real Madrid manager would have called “gasoline” to the situation. It says a lot about the actual stakes of the Super Cup that this was the primary issue ahead of notionally prestige match between two of Europe’s premier clubs. But then you remember that for all the other angles brought up beyond Bale – Mourinho’s history with Real, Mourinho’s history with Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, Mourinho’s history with Zidane, Cristiano Ronaldo’s…

Could this be why Chelsea aren’t planning to spend hugely any more this Transfer window?

Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez has ruled out cashing in on prized asset Cristiano Ronaldo.

Usain Bolt claims losing his unbeatable tag in his final race does not tarnish his Forever Fastest legacy. The Jamaican added a first bronze medal to his golden collection when he joined champion Justin Gatlin and Christian Coleman on the 100 metres podium. He said he had no regrets at not retiring after completing his hat-trick of Olympic titles in Rio last summer. “I’ve proved to the world I’m one of the greatest athletes,” said Usain Bolt . “This doesn’t change anything. “I lost to a great competitor and a young kid who is coming up and is very talented. “No regrets, I’ve…

The Community Shield had not even kicked-off on Sunday, and already Arsene Wenger’s side were being mocked. The squad lists on the back of the matchday programme showed a laughably long stream of Arsenal players compared to a much more compact number for their opponents Chelsea. The lists were slightly misleading as a few of the Arsenal players are youngsters who will not feature much for the first team, but nonetheless it underlined how bloated Arsene Wenger’s squad has become. The manager has been wary of selling fringe players in the last couple for years, but even he admitted after the match that…

The undercard for Floyd Mayweather’s eagerly anticipated showdown with Conor McGregor on August 26 is beginning to take shape with Gervonta Davis set to star. The Floyd Mayweather and Conor Mcgregor main event is expected to become the first billion dollar fight in the history of sport, and so it was no surprise when every even remotely successful boxer and mixed martial artist began talking up their chances of featuring. A number of ludicrous crossover bouts were quickly suggested – from a heavyweight bout between Anthony Joshua and Stipe Miocic, to a long-awaited fight between Roy Jones Jr and Anderson Silva – before Mayweather…

Chelsea Captain, Gary Cahill says he and the chelsea squad are hurt by their Community Shield defeat to Arsenal but believes his side will bounce back as they prepare to begin their title defence next weekend. The Premier League champions lost on penalties in the annual curtain-raiser at Wembley as the Gunners rallied from going behind to Victor Moses’ opener with new signing Sead Kolasinac equalising before they triumphed on spot kicks. Cahill, now club captain following the departure of John Terry at the end of last season, is disappointed to have started in such a manner but says his side have what it takes to put…

Brazilian star defender, Dani Alves has revealed that it was Neymar who persuaded him to reject Manchester City for Paris Saint-Germain, weeks before the forward’s world-record move from Barcelona went ahead. The 34-year-old left Juventus on a free this summer and expressed an interest in reuniting with former boss Pep Guardiola at City before ending up at the Parc des Princes instead, after PSG offered him £230,000-a-week – double what City were offering. Alves joined on 12th July, nearly a month before Neymar’s £200m move was confirmed, and he admitted it was his Brazilian teammate who was one of the deciding factors – thus suggesting the 25-year-old’s move had been in the…

Michy Batshuayi has refuted any suggestion that he enjoyed Alvaro Morata’s penalty miss after television footage of the striker appeared to show him laughing during Chelsea’s shootout defeat. Arsenal lifted the first trophy of the season after the Community Shield was decided on penalties. The Belgian started the game as Antonio Conte chose to leave his £60m summer signing, Alvaro Morata, on the bench. The match was decided on penalties after Sead Kolasinac headed in Arsenal’s equaliser after Victor Moses had put Chelsea in front in the 46th minute. Trailing 2-1 in the subsequent shootout, Thibaut Courtois and Alvaro Morata both missed their…