Vesper

weee 1 1

fuck, Chilwell banged in a rocket

he just got yanked

Watford v Leicester City HD Streams http://www.sportnews.to/sports/2020/premier-league-watford-vs-leicester-city-s1/ https://www.totalsportek.com/leicester-city/

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer urged to strip Harry Maguire of captaincy and hand armband to Paul Pogba https://tribuna.com/en/manutd/news/2020-06-13-ole-gunnar-solskjaer-urged-to-strip-harry-maguire-of-captaincy-and-hand-armband-to-paul-p/ Tim Sherwood has bizarrely suggested that Manchester United should take the captain's armband from Harry Maguire and give it to Paul Pogba instead. Speaking to Premier League Productions, the former Tottenham manager said: "In my opinion, I think these players like Pogba are very hard to come by in the world of football. "I would keep him and I would give him the armband straight away hoping that he could gain some responsibility from having the armband at the football club and want to stay there. "Maguire is happy he's at Man United. This boy [Pogba] could play at any club in the world. Pogba is a top footballer and could play for anyone. I'm giving him the armband then making him stay at the football club. "I will go all out to keep him at the football club, I would try everything possible, talk to him and say, 'I'll give you the armband, you'll be the leader'. Added responsibility and hopefully that’ll mature this boy into a top player."

4-3-1-2 Ziyech Havertz Werner shake well or go full bonkers 4-2-2-2 Havetz-Ziyech Werner-Tammy or go full retro Italiano 4-1-3-2 Havertz as the CMF/No 10 Ziyech at RMF Werner and Tammy up top

My conclusion is based off the fact that Rudiger is simply a far better overall CB than Zouma. Zouma is very poor on the ball.and doesnt have rudiger's positional sense. Rudiger is not horrid at at any aspect of the game. There some parts he is weaker at, than others, but nothing falls to the level of Zouma's weak points. Rudiger is far from perfect, but atm he is simply our best overall CB. He is also more of a leader on the pitch. I see three players who get mashed about here far too much. Mount, Rudiger, and now Werner. I am well known to have huge issues with Alonso, and am frustrated we did not sell Willian for huge cash in 2018, but of the 3 LB options we have atm, Alonso is by far the best one, and as for Willian, IF we fail to get Havertz, we damn well better hope Willian caves in and accepts a 2 year deal, as we are, at that point, down to only 3 wingers, 2 of them who are injury prone, and one who may be needed at times as an AMF. Sancho is not an option, due to other needs and simply too high a price due to those needs, as none would get sorted.. We would have no money for a LB (it would have to be, at that point, Kurzawa on a free or pray that Juve swap Alex Sandro for Emerson straight up, which is doubtful I fear) no backup keeper slash possible Kepa 'bridge the gap' replacement, and surely no CB of any quality coming in. I can accept (even if I hate it) missing out on Havertz. But I cannot accept 1. doing literally fuckall at keeper, that is madness, Willy IS NOT A VIABLE OPTION to the likely to implode further Kepa, it is suicidal to think he is, the bloke is almost 39yo and slow as hell now. I cannot believ we are trying to do something behind the scenes. 2. doing nothing at LB, that is madness, it is going on 7 years now since we were last stable there (Conte's 1 season with decently performing wingbacks, not actual fullbacks aside, and his last year even as wingbacks they were shit overall) Azpi (plus a now 31yo Azpi come August, I might add) at LB is outright capitulation, as I have said so many times before 3. doing nothing at CB, which, combined with the other 2, if we bollocks thsoe up, spells possible doom next season, despite Werner and Ziyech coming in as we will be fucked at multiple defensive positions 4. Having only 3 wingers, which I already talked about. Mount and RLC are NOT proper options there. RLC was so 'fish out of water' when old smokey rolled his dice and tossed him in at winger.

it puts WAY too much pressure on Havertz to sell Firmino and then bring him in you are basically forcing the lad to only play CF and they still have fuckall for AMF if he has to play CF and its 100m euros, not pounds max (so £91m), and the talk from Germany (same sourcing who were correct on Werner) says IF Bayer fails to get CL his price will drop by 20m euros or so,as their revenue will plummet (as will ours if we miss out) so he could be had for around £72m Mönchengladbach is one point behind Leverkusen they both play Hertha Berlin and Borussia play bottom of the table Paderborn, Bayer plays the erratic Mainz (fighting for survial) Mönchengladbach drew Hertha away, Bayer lost at home the first time each played them Mönchengladbach fucked up badly since the break they drew with woeful Werder Bremen, lost to middling Freiburg, and then got smashed by Leverkusen themselves if they had beaten Bremen and just drew with Freiburg, it would basically be over already, as even a draw against Hertha (they will crush Paderborn) puts them 4th by GD even if Leverkusen wins both. Even if they only beat Paderborn 1 nil, Bayer would have to then make up 6 in GD to take fourth Basically it comes down to Bayer v Hertha, if they win, they are likely into the CL, if they lose, then even a draw for Borussia v Hertha more than likely puts Mönchengladbach into the CL on GD If Bayer draws v Hertha, then it is still in Mönchengladbach's hands. They just need to win both of their games (which is far from impossible)

He turns 25 in a little over 6 months, so not very young he is in his primes years 24/25 is prime, I am not at all a believer that players 'prime years' only kick in around 27 or even 28 and roll past 30 years of age, to say 32, that is almost always (not saying you are saying this btw) pure bollocks that maybe was the case more often back in the day not at all anymore Modric, for example fell off the cliff this year, Marcelo started last season, Busquets this season (that surprised me) these are the only players 32 and up who performed to a super high level thsi season (and multiple ones were 31 for part or most of it) and multiple ones dealt with injuries (which comes with age as well) GKers do not count Lionel Messi Cristiano Ronaldo Sergio Agüero Ángel Di María Karim Benzema Luis Suárez Dries Mertens Edinson Cavani Leonardo Bonucci Gerard Piqué Josip Ilicic Jamie Vardy Papu Gómez João Moutinho Fernandinho Yunis Abdelhamid (best CB in Ligue 1 this season by a mile (Marquinhos played DMF a tonne)at age 32, turns 33 in 3 months 3 CB's, zero fullbacks, 1 DMF 1 CMF, 1 AMF, 1 SS, 3 wingers, 6 strikers the CF's plus Messi and CR7 make u half of the 16 it is absolutely a young mans game long ago players, a handful of genetic freaks, plus a few CF's and then Messi and CR7 delude people into this myth of early to mid 30's still being prime or even worse, the actual prime years 95% plus are not, and to be truly great at 32yo and up is just extraordinarily rare now (save for some elite CF's)

I so doubt they do it, but I have a serious hard time thinking they have no money they have a large, always being expanded stadium that is constantly being upgraded they have massive prize moneys run they do not crazy salaries they have billionaire owners and they are in need to some upgrades as the age out they really need a great AMF, they have shit there they are carrying a fair amount of dregs Dejan Lovren Nathaniel Clyne (I guess oki for a backup for another season or 2) James Milner he turns 35 midseason Ovie Ejaria Adam Lallana Xherdan Shaqiri <<<< they already have his replacement, the coming back from loan Harry Wilson Sheyi Ojo Divock Origi <<< they are forced to keep him atm, he is not a terrible player (unlike Bats) they really need that AMF (Lallana is leaving so they have NONE),and another CB (Lovren is doghsit) not that I want him there, but they literally are bonkers to not be chasing Havertz harder than most any other player there is zero reason for them to have to sell shit to buy him, they bought fuckall the last 2 windows, plus have all that prize cash the only way I would touch the front 3 this window is IF they think they could sell Salah or Mane and guaranteed bring in Sancho this is the last window they will get over 100m for either, as Mane turns 30 during the 2021-2022 season, and Salah turns 30 right after it ends I just cant see a club dumping over 100m quid in summer 2021 on a 29, soon 30yo winger not named CR7 or Messi I also think they have issues with trying to get Sancho to go there overall as it is Liverpool, but I may be wrong

It will still be a joy to watch the entrancing Wilfried Zaha, even in absentia https://theathletic.com/1864172/2020/06/18/wilfried-zaha-crystal-palace-fans/ The venue was a rather neglected office in an outbuilding at Crystal Palace’s training ground, complete with scraggy carpets and battered boxes of old merchandise stacked higgledy-piggledy along one wall. A young Wilfried Zaha, just about clinging to his teens, was holding court. This was his maiden high-profile interview, the first time he had really embraced the media frenzy being whipped up around him. One of the two newspaper reporters present had just asked him to elaborate on his thought process when facing up an opponent. What goes through your head when you collect the ball on the touchline, then look up to see a defender, or three defenders, descending upon you? Does instinct take over, or do you always have a plan? The winger launched into a stream of consciousness, gesticulating wildly to portray the familiar body swerves, feints and slaloms between markers that were already becoming his trademark. “I just think about gaps I can go through. I’m looking where I can go before I attempt any skills. Like, mostly, stepovers… if I do a shimmy, I’m thinking, ‘This one might move here, so that gives me the chance to push the ball through there instead, then run past this guy…’ “If I’m taking someone on out on the wing, I’ll do a stepover like I’m going to run that way, and I’d take it inside. If I’m on the left and going at you, you’d be prepared for me to go down the outside but I’d cut inside with a stepover and, by the time you’ve turned, I’ll have pushed it and run off with it.” His wide-eyed enthusiasm was infectious. Even talking about beating his man, then gliding away into space, seemed to thrill him. There was also baffled delight that a breakdown of what came so naturally might be of interest to others. He name-checked players at Millwall and Manchester United — who he helped beat in a League Cup tie at Old Trafford 12 months previously, in November 2011 — whom he had left humiliated. “I’m always thinking ahead. If I take a touch, I’ve got a couple of seconds to think about what I should do before the players come at me. Whatever happens after that just happens. This is my moment.” Zaha was a star in the making. A few days later, on his 20th birthday, he would propel Palace to the top of the Championship with a win at Peterborough. His display that afternoon so startled the home side’s manager, Darren Ferguson, telephoned his father later the same evening and suggested the kid who had just put his own team to the sword might be worth a second look. By the time Sir Alex and Sir Bobby Charlton summoned the forward to a central London hotel to discuss a move to United later that month, Zaha was a full England international and his valuation had escalated accordingly. Wigan had scoffed at paying £3.5 million in the summer of 2012, while Reading had a bid of £6 million rejected on deadline day. United ended up paying £15 million for an exciting talent with all the attributes to thrive in the top flight. Seven and a half years on and, some might argue, not a huge amount has changed. Admittedly, that tatty outbuilding down at Beckenham has been spruced up a bit. In normal circumstances, it would host Roy Hodgson’s pre-match press conferences. But Zaha is still a Palace player, albeit one whose reputation in the top flight is established. Most significantly, that capacity to entrance, compelling his audience to rise to their feet in charged anticipation, is still as irresistible as ever. Of all the things for which the club’s support have pined over the last 15 weeks — from Jordan Ayew’s newfound cult hero status and Vicente Guaita’s consistent excellence to the din inside Selhurst Park in happier times — the sight of their youth-team graduate skipping gleefully beyond a panicked full-back, twisting his marker inside out, will be most welcome. Bournemouth have the dubious honour of attempting to subdue him first. Plenty in their number will remember failing to nullify his threat at Selhurst Park on the final day of last season when even Jefferson Lerma’s strong-arm aggression merely served to fuel the forward’s display. For a while that afternoon, as the visitors chipped away at what had once appeared an unassailable lead, Zaha had looked rattled. He was battered, bruised and, incensed by perceived injustice, booked. The referee, Roger East, waved away the Palace players’ calls for greater protection so, as the visitors’ support chortled “he’s going to cry in a minute”, the forward took matters into his own hands. He had a role in all five of the hosts’ goals that day, but his furious surge down the left away from a trio of opponents, Lerma included, to set up the fifth lingers longest in the memory; a blistering, unstoppable run which utterly overshadowed a tidy finish from Andros Townsend at its culmination. It is the sight of Zaha in full flight that Palace supporters have missed most. Those skills, developed mimicking Ronaldinho while practising with a tennis ball in his bedroom back at his family’s home in Rothesay Road, a stone’s throw from Selhurst Park, have long since become second nature. Project Restart, even with its uncomfortable choice of canned crowd noise or disconcerting silence, will feel more real once the winger has left a defender bamboozled and floundering, possibly on his backside. Competitive football will only truly be back once an opposing midfielder has launched into a crude lunge as a riposte. The young Zaha would have been reassured to know he invariably remains the centre of attention all these years on, even if he never envisaged spending so much of his career in this corner of south London. Plenty still point to that stunted spell at Old Trafford — which yielded two substitute appearances in the Premier League and as many loan spells elsewhere — as evidence that the winger does not quite have what it takes to excel in the highest echelons. That theory does not take into account the unmitigated struggles. He was a young man alone in alien surroundings and on the periphery of a team in transition post-Ferguson. Mistakes were made on both sides. All should have handled it better. He has restored his reputation since. Rival clubs are still feigning incredulity at Palace’s valuation (there has never been an “asking price”) if they ever pluck up the courage to lodge a bid for a player now capped competitively by Ivory Coast and contracted through to 2023 — although his suitors tend not to be the likes of Wigan and Reading these days. Palace chairman Steve Parish has resisted attempts to part with the club’s prized asset in each of the last three summers. Arsenal and Everton tested their resolve last year and Zaha was so keen for a new challenge that he took on Pini Zahavi as his representative to sound out prospective suitors. He even requested a transfer as the August deadline approached. But, as the player put it, “Things never worked out”. No one ever came close to recognising what the forward is worth to his current employers — especially since United are obliged to receive a proportion of any profit — and, global pandemic or not, that situation has not changed. The market may be deflated but the cost of relegation is still crippling. Why would Palace be willing to accept less now? Beyond an initial wave of disappointment on the eve of the campaign, his professionalism has never been questioned in the period since. He is the only player to have featured in all of Palace’s games this term. Indeed, while his goal and assist returns have dipped on last term’s numbers, he has still been a heavy contributor. A crunched equaliser at home to Brighton in December might be the most obvious highlight but he has mustered considerably more dribbles and crosses than at the same stage last season. His mere presence has probably allowed Ayew, the campaign’s surprise contributor, to prosper as a more conventional centre-forward. While opponents swarm to quell Zaha out on the wing, others have space in which to make their own mark. Paris Saint-Germain have been mentioned in dispatches as a possible destination ahead of this summer’s merry-go-round, a move that would sate Zaha’s understandable appetite for trophies. Yet the suggestion in France is that the lockdown and early cancellation of Ligue 1 have taken their economic toll, even on the Qatari-backed French champions. That will limit their spending power. Regardless, the addition of a winger to a mouth-watering front line was never likely to be a priority. Palace, for their part, do not expect Zaha to agitate again. There has been no inkling that he will. Neither would they welcome any interest from elsewhere. The transfer window will be more condensed than normal given rescheduling and there would be precious little time to secure a replacement. In any case, a sale would probably necessitate two or three additions to fill the void given how integral Zaha remains to the collective’s approach. A shorter pre-season would hardly offer much scope to adapt. But that will be August’s problem. For now, it is enough to sit back and hope the 27-year-old conjures his usual end of season rush of form to propel his team to their best points tally in the revamped Premier League. It will be intriguing to see how a player who tends to revel as the pantomime villain copes without the adrenaline rush of crowd noise driving him on. Cardboard cutouts will not have quite the same effect. Zaha’s emotions have always been exposed out on the pitch and opponents, both players and fans, have targeted that as a weakness. Southampton, and James Ward-Prowse in particular, have succeeded in driving him to distraction. The likes of Watford, Brighton, West Ham and Huddersfield, on balance, have probably wound him up at their peril. It remains to be seen whether the deafening silence gets his juices flowing or whether the occasional snapped tackle at his ankles will suffice. Regardless, that desire to collect possession and take on his marker will be as urgent as ever. Zaha spoke to Rio Ferdinand on the latter’s The Locker Room vodcast over lockdown and was posed a similar question to that asked in his first interview all those years previously. When you receive the ball and face the full-back, in the final third, what’s the first thought in Wilfried Zaha’s head? “What movement I can make first, to make them go for it… that movement I do will give me that split second to think about what I can do next. I’ll do a stepover or a feint, and that gives me a slight second to look up and see if I can cross it in or supply a through ball to someone. What can I do quickly? I want to get an assist, I want to score goals but, at the same time, you want to enjoy what you’re doing and you want everyone watching to enjoy it as well. When I go on the pitch, I’m there to entertain.” Some things have not changed. For Palace’s support, even in absentia, watching Zaha is still as joyful as ever.

welcome to the blue side

no clue m8, sorry

Rudiger was the best IMHO.and it wasn't close I am sure many will go bonkers on that Tomori needs to step the hell up and AC (too weak) and Zouma (to poor on the ball) need to be sent packing

will he have a poster of matt law above the bed in the tree house? asking for a friend

Bulgarian hardcore punk

staggeringly disagree, and I was a big Kepa defender we need to bring in a lower cost decent backup/potential starter for if/when Kepa furthers his collapse if we roll with just Kepa and soon 39yo Willy, we are 90% likely going to get FUCKED hard Kepa has regressed and/or never developed his arm play is pure shit shorts as fuck arms and weak as fuck wrists/arm strength he is looking like a 140m quid disasterbuy atm

long ago I almost typed Wenger instead of Werner, lololo but I am dyslexic and I was drunkish

Friday June 19 2020 Football Nerd Bournemouth could have an edge in relegation fight while Watford must improve By Daniel Zeqiri Does Eddie Howe have a secret weapon? CREDIT: REUTERS Bournemouth arrived in the Premier League in 2015 with a reputation for intricate passing football, but this season have relied on more direct methods with almost a third of their league goals coming from set-pieces. Only Liverpool have scored more than Bournemouth's 15 from dead ball situations, a specialism that could give them an edge over relegation rivals Brighton, West Ham and Watford all of whom are in action on Saturday. Not only have Eddie Howe's team reaped the benefits of choreographed offensive set-pieces, they have also been proficient at defending them despite being far from the tallest or strongest team. When goals conceded from set-pieces are subtracted from goals scored, Bournemouth are the only team in the Premier League's bottom six with a positive goal difference having conceded 11. Only Burnley, Liverpool and Wolves better Bournemouth's set-piece goal difference. Efficiency from set-pieces is frequently cited as a cornerstone of Sam Allardyce or Tony Pulis's success in relegation fights and Howe deserves due credit despite his association with a different style of football. Only three of Bournemouth set-piece goals arrived via the right foot of Ryan Fraser, who is soon to depart on a Bosman after refusing a short-term contract extension. Harry Wilson has extended his loan deal from Liverpool, and Howe will look to him and the returning David Brooks for quality delivery. Only one of Bournemouth's 15 set-piece goals was a penalty, which makes their tally all the more impressive. Nigel Pearson will be desperate for Watford, who have converted a meagre six set-pieces into goals, to start maximising these situations. Only Norwich have a worse offensive record. Given the height throughout Watford's team - central midfielders Étienne Capoue and Abdoulaye Doucouré are as tall as some centre back pairings - and the threat posed by Troy Deeney, they should be capable of far more. Watford have not excelled defensively either, conceding 16, although the division's worst defensive set-piece record belongs to Aston Villa with 19 shipped. Add Sheffield United's 'ghost goal' from Wednesday's draw at Villa Park, and the against column should be a nice round 20. At the other end of the table, set-pieces have fueled Liverpool's red machine with Jurgen Klopp's team scoring 16 and conceding just five. Defending corners was a recurring problem in Klopp's first two years at Anfield but no longer. Sheffield United have the league's best defensive record with just four conceded, a credit to Chris Wilder and his staff.

Worse defence, worse attack – but ‘elite’ Joao Felix can lift the Atletico gloom https://theathletic.com/1873143/2020/06/19/joao-felix-atletico-madrid-la-liga/ This has been the strangest season of Diego Simeone’s time in charge of Atletico Madrid while Joao Felix’s first year at the club has closely mirrored the team’s fortunes. Early excitement and optimism have been replaced with frustration and disappointment. Every time a corner seemed to have been turned, another roadblock appeared in the way. The €126 million youngster’s clinically-taken goal double in a 5-0 La Liga win at Osasuna on Wednesday again showed just how crucial his own displays and state of mind have become for Atletico’s chances of success, less than a year after he arrived from Portugal’s Benfica. The result — and their all-round performance — in Pamplona eased worries that Simeone’s team might miss out on Champions League qualification for next season, which would have very serious financial consequences for a club whose finances were stretched even before the COVID-19 shutdown. Coming on the day that UEFA announced how this season’s Champions League would be decided, the manner of the victory at El Sadar raised hopes that Atletico can now push on and be well-placed for a run at winning that eight-team straight knockout tournament to be staged in Portugal in August. That a team previously so reliant on collective effort has become dependent on just one clearly talented but still unproven 20-year-old is an unexpected turn but Simeone is nothing if not pragmatic, and these are unusual times for everyone. Things appeared to be coming very easily to Joao Felix last summer when the Benfica starlet arrived in La Liga amid plenty of fanfare. His official debut at home to Getafe featured a thrilling 60-yard run from his own half, hurdling four different attempts to take him out before he was finally brought down in the penalty area. The second game, a local derby away at Leganes, brought his first assist in a 1-0 victory. In game three, he scored his first goal for his new club — a neat finish in a win over Eibar that put Atletico top of La Liga for the only time this season. Reality soon bit though and a 2-0 defeat at Real Sociedad as the season resumed after the September internationals showed Simeone’s new-look team was still very much a work in progress. A run of only two La Liga wins in nine games saw them fall out of the title race well before the winter break, despite Barcelona and Real Madrid having far from vintage campaigns themselves. Simeone himself took to talking regularly of a “transitional season” following the summer exits of key players including Antoine Griezmann, Diego Godin and Rodri. Felix was also struggling to meet the expectation of the public and his coaches, and an October ankle injury that led to a four-game lay-off stalled his tactical and physical integration. He completed the 90 minutes in just two of his first 16 La Liga games — frustrating both the player and Atletico fans, who knew their team was crying out for more creativity and flair. There were also troubles throughout the team, including a concerning new tendency for Simeone’s previously rock-solid side to concede sloppy goals at set pieces, but the clearest problem was in attack. Diego Costa scored only twice in his first 19 appearances of another injury-ravaged season. Alvaro Morata had a purple patch, scoring in six consecutive matches in October and November but then went over 600 minutes without a goal in any competition through to early 2020. A 1-0 defeat away to Real Madrid in February meant Atletico dropped to sixth with just 22 goals scored in their first 22 La Liga games — the worst record of Simeone’s nine seasons in charge. Their tally of 36 points at that stage was also the lowest of his reign. There was also real concern over Felix’s adaptation, and questions over both Atletico’s huge investment and his choice of club to develop his career. The now 20-year-old did not score or assist in 11 straight La Liga appearances from September to January and was often fielded on the right side of midfield, a role which involved a lot of chasing back off the ball, very far from the areas where he could really damage opponents. The team needed his ingenuity in attack but, even when fit and available, he was looking low on confidence and energy. Such an adaptation should not have been a surprise, Felix’s former Benfica youth coach Joao Tralhao tells The Athletic. “It was normal for Joao to need to adapt. For him to have some very good moments, some not so good moments, inconsistent performances,” Tralhao says. “Simeone demands that his players must be so good defensively. Joao needed to have enough energy to defend well, to run a lot, to work so hard off the ball. And on the other hand, he needed to be able to do what he knows best, to have the ball, to create chances, and to finish. The cost of his transfer was crazy numbers and maybe, in December or January, people thought he was not meeting expectations. (But) Simeone knew that he needed to prepare him for this level.” Attempting such preparation on the fly was not ideal. When Felix missed the Champions League last-16 first-leg victory over Liverpool in mid-February with another minor injury, some wondered if his absence had actually been a benefit for his team, who refound their old grit and determination to score early and hang tough to win 1-0. The kid himself did not share that idea, though, and returned looking more determined to make an impact. He scored in two of his first three games back from that injury, against top-four race rivals Villarreal and Sevilla, persuading Simeone to pick him for the decider against Liverpool. At Anfield, he put in a big shift off the ball as Atletico were often overrun but somehow stayed in the game. Still, he remained physically and mentally fresh enough, well into extra time, to provide the defence-splitting pass from which Marcos Llorente swung the tie back Atletico’s way. “Since February, he came back better, with a different type of mentality,” Tralhao says. “(The game in Anfield) was a good example to show who Joao Felix is. He does not shake when the decisive moments come. He enjoys those moments. This is the difference between a good player and an elite player, and he is elite. “He has needed time to adapt, of course — players are not machines. This shows what he is capable of doing in the future, how he will develop. He is still just 20 years old. I know him very well and in terms of mentality and attitude, he is very, very strong. He will always fight to be better, which is the best indicator for a youngster.” The coronavirus lockdown came just as Atletico — and Felix — were on their biggest high of the season. Three months off appeared to break their rhythm again, as the first game back brought more disappointment — a 1-1 away draw with Athletic Bilbao, which appeared to show all the familiar failings had returned. Although Costa took advantage of a defensive mistake to score, his team got only two shots on target all game and remained in sixth place. Their away woes also continued, with their 3-2 win at Anfield remaining, at the time, their only victory on the road in any competition this year. The only potential bright spot before Wednesday’s return to the Basque country to face Osasuna was Felix being available again, having missed the trip to Bilbao due to suspension. Based as much on hope as past evidence, Madrid-based sports dailies AS and Marca both headlined previews “Joao Felix to the rescue”. And so it came to pass. Atletico began on the front foot and dominated possession but had still not managed a shot on target until the 27th minute, when Felix raced onto a loose ball in the penalty area and smashed it through a crowd of players into the net. Although they were playing well, a second shot on target did not come until early in the second half. Costa broke clear and squared for Felix to calmly and confidently knock home. From there, Osasuna’s resistance crumbled. Substitute Llorente made it 3-0 with 10 minutes left before setting up late finishes for Morata and Yannick Carrasco. The final 5-0 scoreline came as a relief for Atletico and lifted them up to fourth for at least 24 hours but was not fully representative of the game. Simeone’s side still had only 10 shots on goal, with the difference being that their best chances in key moments had fallen to a player who could put them away — as the man of the match himself pinpointed when speaking on Spanish TV afterwards. “I am very happy with the win, to lift the group, and it is very good for me too personally,” Felix said. “We were together the whole game (and) played simply. We took the chances we had, which had not happened in many previous games. After three months away, to score twice is very good for me, for my confidence, and I hope to keep going now.” Not usually one to gush with praise of any of his players, Simeone also pointed to the No 7’s decisive contribution. “Joao is a decisive player,” he said. “Very dynamic. I always expect the best from my players. He took the first goal very well. He was well-positioned in the second. Today, we could link up very well, which allowed him to appear in the game. I’m happy that the team has made a step forward and we have to keep doing that, and create more.” This could still be the worst-performing Atletico side of Simeone’s era; an inconsistent bunch who struggle to create and take chances, and have become worryingly unstable at the back. Or perhaps, they are an exciting, new-look team who have come through some understandable difficulties and are now looking to peak at just the right time. What we can say is that this side has a new central figure. Costa and Morata have both scored since the return to action but nobody would be surprised should they disappoint again in the upcoming games. Homegrown midfielders Koke and Saul Niguez have yet to really step up and replace past leaders Gabi and Godin in the team. Other new players, including Renan Lodi, Llorente and Kieran Trippier, are still finding their best roles. After less than a year at the club, Felix is already their key player. This might seem a lot of pressure for a 20-year-old in a new country but those who know him best believe he is ready to rise to the challenge. “Joao is still very calm. He wants to perform and help his team,” Tralhao says. “When we talk, he is focused on the essential, not the criticism or different rumours. He has always been like that, focused on how he wants to develop, how he wants to play. This step to Atletico was very important for him to develop some things he needed. Had he chosen a different club, probably he would not develop as much as he is developing this season. He is being challenged at Atletico, which is very important for this type of player. But he has shown what he is capable of, and will be in the future.” Atletico’s season could still go one of two ways. Further inconsistency can be expected and their upcoming schedule includes a trip to Barcelona’s Nou Camp. Making the top four will still probably come down to their final two games, against rivals Getafe (away) and Real Sociedad (home), in mid-July. How Felix’s fitness and form stand up to the accelerated schedule remains to be seen. His process of adaptation to Atletico and preparation under Simeone is still far from complete but, given the circumstances, he has settled remarkably quickly, which brings optimism that Atletico’s strange 2019-20 season could still end very happily after all.

Cox: Limiting Luiz’s space worked at Chelsea but errors only rising at Arsenal https://theathletic.com/1879833/2020/06/19/david-luiz-arsenal-manchester-city-red-card-chelsea-mahrez/ Very rarely, you witness an individual performance so disastrous that you suspect the player might never play for his club again. Ali Dia’s sole appearance for Southampton springs to mind, as does Gary Neville’s farewell performance for Manchester United on New Year’s Day in 2011, when he was hauled off with just under 20 minutes to go against West Brom and realised, suddenly, he wasn’t up to it any more. The latest candidate for this exclusive list is David Luiz, whose performance against Manchester City was so calamitous that he felt compelled to give a post-match interview admitting Arsenal’s 3-0 loss was entirely his fault. He wasn’t a pure bluffer like Dia and he wasn’t on his last legs like Neville. It felt, if anything, like a typical Luiz display. There was an unforced error for the first goal, then a foul that brought a red card and a penalty for the second. That was the Brazilian’s second dismissal of the season, which brings a two-match ban and means he’ll miss Arsenal’s trips to Southampton and Brighton. Only one match remains before his contract expires, with no sign that it’s likely to be extended. If that’s that, then the signing of Luiz might be remembered as among the least successful in Arsenal’s recent history. The financial implications of signing the Brazilian on a one-year deal are stark but purely in terms of on-pitch performance, this has been a campaign littered with avoidable errors. It was, on paper, a reasonable purchase: an experienced centre-back who might have brought some leadership to a shaky defence which has regularly been exposed against strong opposition, particularly away from home. But Luiz had let Arsenal down three times in big away matches already. Away at Liverpool last August, he conceded a penalty for unnecessarily tugging back Mohamed Salah after Roberto Firmino had diverted a pass from Trent Alexander-Arnold… …and then found himself left miles behind by Salah’s swift turn close to the halfway line. In that incident, Luiz actively jumped out of Salah’s way — he feared a second booking, having already been cautioned for the penalty incident. Away at Chelsea, in a dramatic 2-2 draw in January, he was put in a difficult situation by Shkodran Mustafi’s woefully underhit pass but proceeded to jump on Tammy Abraham’s back to concede a penalty and a red card. It was a similar incident to Wednesday’s foul on Mahrez. Since the “double jeopardy” rule was changed, it’s rare for a defender to concede a penalty and red card in the same incident. Luiz has done it twice this season. No other player in the Premier League has conceded more than two penalties in 2019-20 — Luiz has conceded four. In terms of red cards and penalties, his statistics at Arsenal are considerably worse than at Chelsea. Luiz has quite specific defensive shortcomings. There has long been a feeling that he is simply “not a natural defender” but that belies the fact he’s often performed extremely well in a traditional defensive sense. In Chelsea’s European Cup success in 2012, for example, he spent almost the entirety of matches inside the penalty box, doing little other than holding his position and heading the ball away. He did that magnificently and was probably Chelsea’s best player in the final in Munich. He really struggles, however, when he is given a large amount of space to patrol himself. This was most evident in 2011 when Jorge Jesus’ Benfica travelled to play Andre Villas-Boas’ Porto. At this stage, Porto’s most dangerous player was Hulk on the right wing, so Jesus pushed left-back Fabio Coentrao to the left of midfield and used Luiz at left-back. It backfired spectacularly: Hulk and Porto ran riot. All five goals — without answer — came from that flank. Luiz joined Chelsea later that month. His most impressive run of form came when deployed as the spare man in Antonio Conte’s 3-4-3 formation, which took Chelsea to the title in 2016-17. Again, this was largely about limiting the space Luiz was required to cover — Gary Cahill and Cesar Azpilicueta chaperoned him. He rarely needed to shift from a central role and seldom found himself forced to engage in individual battles out wide. That doesn’t entirely explain his poor form for Arsenal, however, because even when deployed in that role, he’s often committed basic mistakes. When Unai Emery used a three-man defence for a 2-2 draw with Southampton back in November, Luiz managed to get himself in a terrible situation entirely of his own making. Initially in this situation, he seemed in a good position against Danny Ings… …but he then suddenly decided to push 10 yards higher up the pitch and play offside against him. Perhaps the defenders on the far side could have followed his lead but equally, you expect Luiz, as the central player of the three centre-backs, to be the one ordering the defence up together. That brought him into a curious position, but then — when Southampton won a free kick close to the touchline — he made things worse by instantly turning his back, which meant he was completely unaware that Ryan Bertrand had played a quick free kick to Ings. Luiz was miles away from being able to stop him. In the space of 10 seconds, he had gone from no danger to out of position and facing the wrong way. Ings opened the scoring. It’s not merely about the formation — he needs to be part of a solid defence where the other defenders aren’t dragged out of position. Maybe Luiz has struggled as Arsenal’s defensive leader, in part, because he’s the opposite to Laurent Koscielny, the club captain until last summer. Koscielny wasn’t the most intimidating penalty box defender, lacking the height and stature you expect of a true defensive leader. But he was, at his peak, the Premier League’s best player at sprinting out wide to shut down a quick forward in the channels, then either nipping in to win the ball ahead of them or waiting and coming out on top as the forward attempted a dribble. Koscielny was the master in that situation but Luiz looks completely uncomfortable out there. And for a side that depends upon overlapping full-backs, they desperately need centre-backs who can take responsibility and cover space out wide. In mitigation, it should be mentioned that Luiz’s distribution has probably never been better. At Chelsea last season, Maurizio Sarri learned to live with his defensive shortcomings because of his precision in possession and his long-range diagonals — often no-look diagonals — became a fundamental part of Chelsea’s approach play. This season, he’s swapped booming long-range diagonals for more methodical balls through the lines for the forwards. For Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goals against Crystal Palace and Everton, it was Luiz’s incision which started the move from the back. But even for a manager like Mikel Arteta, who wants his side to play possession-based football whenever possible, this quality surely isn’t enough. If Luiz’s Arsenal career ends with a red card and a penalty concession, it will be fitting finale — but there was also a fitting start. His first notable contribution in an Arsenal shirt, on debut against Burnley, was a square ball across his own six-yard box to Mustafi, which left Arsenal fans gasping because the ball narrowly avoided hitting goalkeeper Bernd Leno or cannoning off the post. It’s difficult to think of another defender who has such scant regard for the traditional defensive handbook. Ultimately, it’s become impossible to justify the indulgence.

Ripped and raring to go – Mason Greenwood is ‘looking more and more like a man’ https://theathletic.com/1880630/2020/06/19/mason-greenwood-manchester-united-weight-body/ Comparing recent training pictures of Mason Greenwood to those from before football’s break is to be reminded of adolescent school years when heightened hormones over summer holidays meant significant physical changes appeared as if overnight. Hidden away from the Premier League cameras for 12 weeks, Greenwood has re-emerged with added muscle on his teenage frame. “Mason is a young boy, still 18, and during this lockdown period, it has done him all the good in the world,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said on the eve of Manchester United’s restart. “At this age, they do fill out and Mason is looking more and more like a man.” It has not been a deliberate programme as such: just the natural result of a reduction in cardiovascular exercise and a rise in the kind of weight training that suits a solitary lifestyle. It is understood Greenwood has added 3kg — all of it biceps, triceps, and quads. A United source said: “Young kids have very hand-to-mouth energy systems as they’re still growing. A downturn in demand allows them to put weight on and the following training will turn it into muscle. A lot comes down to testosterone levels.” Adam Owen is high performance director at MLS champions Seattle Sounders, having worked for 10 years with Wales and forged close relationships with Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey, who have both altered their physiques during their careers. “Players increasing muscle mass is normal as they go through the final maturation stages,” he tells The Athletic. “You can see the development over time with players who have good nutrition and good habits off the pitch. “This is especially pronounced when not doing as much high-intensity based training. Eating more protein and doing more gym-based sessions within the house may lead to an increase in muscle gain. During lockdown, the players were not training as hard as they would be out on the pitch.” For a forward who has shown himself adept at Premier League level, with five goals in 647 minutes at a ratio bettered only by Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy, the extra power could mean Greenwood comes back with a particular bang. Or rather, he is now more able to deal with the bangs that come his way. “Definitely, it will help him,” said Solskjaer. “Sometimes, earlier on, you could see he was a kid. Now, in training, he can use his strength better. He has done really well over the three, four weeks we have been training now. His quality in front of goal is always going to be there — now he has more muscle to fend defenders away. “The fitness coaches work really well with him. He has done the rest and recovery period. It has been an intense, first full season with the first team, so he is looking really good.” While Greenwood’s youthful fearlessness might have encouraged shooting from distance for goals against Everton, Newcastle and Norwich, his developing body was cited by one source as the cause of a difficult appearance away to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup. Greenwood, positioned on the inside right, was substituted at half-time after being unable to get into the game. In the 18th minute, Greenwood controlled a high ball but was harried out of possession by Joao Cancelo and Ilkay Gundogan as Aaron Wan-Bissaka burst forward into space on the overlap. A minute later, Rodri got his body in the way of Greenwood while challenging for a loose ball and the young player lost out. Greenwood did well in the 27th minute to beat Gundogan to the ball and set up a counter-attack but it was generally an evening of frustration. That is part of the learning process, of course, mentally and physically, but it was the January 29 contest against City that solidified Solskjaer’s determination to bring in a striker before the winter window shut. Solskjaer signed Odion Ighalo on loan and that is who United’s manager turned to when his team were attempting to see out a 1-0 lead over City in their final Premier League match before lockdown. Solskjaer had preservation in mind and Ighalo’s ability to hold up play and feed team-mates was crucial in alleviating pressure, as an 88th-minute replacement for Bruno Fernandes. In the 91st minute, Ighalo backed into Fernandinho — no easy thing in itself — to gather a high clearance from David de Gea. He then added silk to his steel by controlling instantly and passing to Fred. Four minutes later, Ighalo beat Cancelo to another high ball to pass to Fred once more, and the pair combined for a third time 60 seconds later. This time, Cancelo was climbing over Ighalo’s shoulders as if attempting a wrestling takedown but the Nigerian stayed firm and flicked the ball to Fred at just the right moment to spark a break that would eventually lead to Scott McTominay’s clinching goal. Both Ighalo and Greenwood, who has 12 goals in total this campaign, are fit and firing for the visit to Tottenham Hotspur, presenting Solskjaer with plenty of options from the start or off the bench. The home game against Spurs was Greenwood’s first Premier League start of the season and Solskjaer would have no qualms about replicating that decision for the trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. “He played really well in that game,” said Solskjaer of the 2-1 win in December. “His positioning, his movement caused a lot of problems for them. Those experiences will stand him in good stead for the rest of his career. He is just going to grow and grow. I am sure he will have an impact towards the end of the season.” Solskjaer’s conviction comes from Greenwood’s preeminence for scoring, even when only given limited time. Three of his five Premier League goals have come from off the bench and as Andreas Pereira revealed to The Athletic, scoring is often the only thing on his mind even at Carrington. “He is very quiet; a very good guy,” Pereira said. “In training, sometimes you don’t see him a lot but when he touches the ball, it’s a goal. He is a real, real finisher. A No 9. He is always there to get a tap-in or score from far. He doesn’t want to waste his energy. He just wants to score.”

How Flick saved Bayern’s season and won their eighth Bundesliga title in a row https://theathletic.com/1869187/2020/06/16/bayern-bundesliga-champions-hansi-flick-lewandowski/ Before he took charge at the Allianz Arena in summer 2016, Carlo Ancelotti famously observed that Bayern Munich could win the German championship “with their hands in their pockets”, such was their financial and qualitative superiority in the Bundesliga. But it was not too long ago that the 2019-20 campaign was heading towards being a Black Swan-type exception. Bayern were just seventh in the table before a home game against Werder Bremen in mid-December. A 6-1 demolition of Bremen that day proved the starting point of an invincible run of 22 wins and only one draw under Hansi Flick in all competitions, culminating in Tuesday’s 1-0 win over the same opponents that clinched their eighth successive title. A fifth double in those eight seasons now beckons, and maybe more. Bayern don’t just win a ton of games under Flick, they do so while playing a brand of shiny, cohesive attacking football that has their hierarchy dreaming of a sixth European Cup. The renaissance of the Bundesliga’s flagship club is a remarkable achievement for Flick, a quiet, unassuming man who had never been in charge of a top-flight team before and whose biggest success as a head coach had been winning the fourth division with a nascent Hoffenheim 20 years ago. His near-total lack of experience at this level was one of the reasons Bayern kept looking for a more prominent replacement for Niko Kovac while he was entrusted with caretaker duties in November. Bayern wanted a glamorous manager and the degree of security that comes with hiring proven silverware hoarders. Flick’s low profile — he won the 2014 World Cup as Joachim Low’s assistant but mostly worked in the shadows — had some at the club worried he wouldn’t command enough authority to rescue a season in danger of being a total write-off. The 55-year-old was initially hired as Kovac’s assistant last summer, “at the express wish” of the incumbent manager, as Bayern’s press release put it. In truth, it was a little different. The bosses hadn’t failed to notice that many players had struggled with Kovac’s negative tactics and his self-serving propensity to talk down the team’s quality, despite winning the double in his first season. It was then-club president Uli Hoeness’s idea to install Flick, a former midfield water-carrier at Bayern in the mid-1980s, as a possible stop-gap solution in case the Croatian lost the dressing room altogether in his second year. When Kovac lost 5-1 at his former club Eintracht Frankfurt in early November, his time was over and Flick’s had come. Beating Dortmund 4-0 in his first game in charge gave the club confidence he could at the very least continue to manage until a bigger name was acquired. By Christmas, he was confirmed as caretaker until the end of the season. Not long after, Bayern realised that things were going so well there was no longer a real need to look for a better solution. They named him head coach until 2023. “Le Flick, C’est Chic,” 11 Freunde magazine wrote about him this week but there has been nothing particularly flashy or gimmicky about his reign. Flick doesn’t do big, memorable speeches, either in the dressing room or in front of the media. Those who have watched him closely over the last few months will tell you he has succeeded by simply being himself, a genuine man who treats everybody with respect and understands what a team of Bayern’s qualities needs to thrive: simple, clear instructions and a basic set-up that brings out their best. His leadership style is an inclusive one. After taking over from Kovac, he sounded out the views of key members of the team. What did they think about the way Bayern should play? Feedback suggested the team favoured a much more attacking style than the one Kovac had overseen, frustrating them with his reactive tactics. “We would sit back, win back the ball near our own box but then had 80 metres to go to get to the opposition goal,” a senior player tells The Athletic. “We weren’t playing our football.” A return to pressing principles and a higher defensive line was universally welcomed. The majority view was neatly in line with Flick’s own ideas but it had been important to him that the team felt they were being heard. “His empathy is his greatest asset, he’s reminiscent of Jupp Heynckes in that respect,” a source close to the dressing room tells The Athletic. Like 2013’s saintly treble-winner before him, Flick has shown a talent for making everyone feel valued, whether they are seasoned superstars or youngsters on the fringe of the team. “Players like the way he talks to them. He’s honest with them, true to his word. They like him and play for him.” When Javi Martinez was going through such a difficult spell he cried on the bench in October, it was Flick who offered the Spanish midfielder a hug and a sympathetic ear. Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller, two big players who had found themselves ignominiously sidelined by Kovac, were brought back into the fold by Flick, too. Both have been playing their best football for years in the second half of the season, buoyed by the reintroduction of a possession/pressing system that keeps the distance between Bayern’s lines short and the pressure on their opposition intolerably high. The club also love that Flick has been willing to give young players, such as teenage forwards Joshua Zirkzee and Oliver Batista Maier, a chance. It would be wrong to paint him as a mere Mr Nice Guy, though. Flick’s charisma-lite media personality hides a fierce ambition. Working as Low’s assistant with Germany, he used to challenge younger members of the staff to impromptu push-up contests and didn’t talk to one of them for a couple of days after getting beaten at backgammon. Bayern officials, too, were slightly taken aback that Flick had very firm ideas about the way he wanted the team’s affairs run and stood his ground unless there were very good arguments to do things differently. Flick has taken to power very naturally. He’s a benign ruler and avowed team-worker but has clear views. And he doesn’t shy away from voicing them. Players’ ears pricked up when he publicly demanded the signing of a new right-back during the winter break in spite of opposition from sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic, who pointedly told Flick that squad composition shouldn’t be done via the media. Flick stood his ground. Real Madrid’s Alvaro Odriozola was duly brought in on loan. Flick and Salihamidzic have since made up. “People tend to underestimate him because he’s never cared about putting himself in the spotlight,” a long-time friend tells The Athletic. “But he knows both football and his own mind. During his many years under Low, he’s travelled all around Europe and frequently talked at length about the game with the likes of Klopp, Guardiola, Tuchel and Nagelsmann… There’s a deep well of know-how there.” Manuel Neuer, Muller and Boateng knew as much from working with him at national team level. Serge Gnabry has been a fan since Flick had played a role in furthering the former Arsenal player’s career by bringing him to Hoffenheim when working as their sporting director in 2017. Others who hadn’t had dealings with him quickly realised his human touch was complemented by well-defined tactical plans that helped the team play much better. The dressing room was almost instantly his. “When you have the veterans on your side, the team follow suit,” a source close to the dressing room says. Members of the 2014 World Cup squad privately go as far saying Germany wouldn’t have won that tournament without him. Flick was Low’s details man. In the spring of that year, he wrote down the team’s exact training regime for every single day in a black booklet that was hundreds of pages thick. He was also instrumental in convincing Low to devote more time to dead-ball situations, an area the national team manager had neglected in the past. Only five goals out of their 53 scored in the 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012 tournaments had come from free kicks or corners, and Germany had conceded pivotal goals from or after set-pieces in 2006, 2010 and 2012. Dead-balls, known as “Standards” in Germany, were practised more extensively than ever since Germany’s reboot as a team had begun under Jurgen Klinsmann in 2004. Flick felt it made good sense to do so, in anticipation of a hot, sticky World Cup in Brazil in which clear goalscoring chances from open play might be at a premium. He had noticed that Freiburg, Low’s club when he was a second division striker in the 1980s, had an above-average success rate from set-pieces, so Flick instructed Lars Vossler, the assistant coach responsible for Standards at Freiburg, to present his ideas at a coaching workshop. Inspiration also came from more far-flung places. In order to get the team’s creative juices flowing, he showed them a series of videos of novel dead-ball ideas, which included a Maldives international feigning a stumble in the run-up of a penalty. Muller and Toni Kroos unsuccessfully adapted the routine for a comically inept free kick against Algeria in the last 16 but they didn’t mind the world-wide schadenfreude. This new focus on Standards ended up being a key factor in Germany lifting the trophy. They scored five goals from set-pieces in Brazil, including four from their 32 corners, a sensational return of one in eight. At the top level, the usual rate is 1:50. “We have become the kings of set-pieces,” Muller said at the time. Germany’s set-piece excellence was a triumph of preparation and a culture of collective responsibility. Flick had split the squad in two and made scoring goals from set-pieces a mini-competition after every training session, fostering a spirit of innovation, fun and productive rivalry in the camp. “He made the players partners in the process,” a member of the entourage in Brazil tells The Athletic. “They weren’t just following orders but were entrusted to come up with their own solutions. They felt respected and taken seriously as a result.” It’s exactly the same at Bayern now. The club could not be happier. “Hansi has really done well in promoting the team’s strengths of playing attacking football and keeping a well-balanced defence at the same time,” Salihamidzic tells The Athletic. “He communicates really well with the players; practice sessions have been hard work, but also fun, and he really prepared the team well for every game. Hansi is hungry for success, and so are the players. It’s a great fit.” There’s no arguing with that assessment. Come August, Flick will lead Bayern into the final stages of the Champions League as one of the smallest names on the European stage but that’s immaterial in relation to the big impact he has had: thanks to him, Bayern’s football has a recognisable identity again.

FRANK LAMPARD PRESS CONFERENCE AHEAD OF VILLA Frank Lampard discusses 'huge talent’ Timo Werner and previews Sunday’s Match against Aston Villa, giving an update on injury news and how the run in will be similar to tournament football. ‘There are big things at stake in this game. There is a lot of work to be done. There is a lot of competition for the top four places. We are in that battle. https://www.chelseafc.com/en/videos/v/2020/06/19/lampard-on-timo-werner--aston-villa---john-terry---manager-s-pre-NBbWVGgd

Interview Olivier Giroud: 'My body is ready to play a few more years at the best level' https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jun/19/chelsea-olivier-giroud-my-body-is-ready-to-play-a-few-more-years-at-the-best-level Chelsea striker, who almost left in January, has a new one-year extension and is determined to pay back Frank Lampard’s faith Olivier Giroud is a man making up for lost time. Six months ago the Chelsea striker was out in the cold and fretting about losing his place in the France squad before Euro 2020. Opportunities to impress Frank Lampard with his unselfish hold-up play had dried up and Giroud, a target for Bordeaux, Internazionale, Lazio and Tottenham, was desperate for a move. When the January transfer window closed with Giroud still at Chelsea, Lampard promised him a fresh start. Tammy Abraham was struggling with an ankle injury and Michy Batshuayi had disappointed. Giroud, who had made two league starts all season, was back. Scoring on his return to the side against Tottenham in February was a good start, and he was in his element by the time he pitched in with another goal when Chelsea thumped Everton at Stamford Bridge on 8 March, only for coronavirus to bring English football to a halt five days later. There was more uncertainty for a 33-year-old whose deal was due to expire on 30 June. France should have been playing their second game at the Euro on Saturday but the tournament has been delayed by a year and the world champions may have moved on from Giroud by then – not that he sees it that way after agreeing a one-year contract with Chelsea this month. “Panic is not for me,” he says. “Time is not playing on my side, I’m almost 34, but my body is ready to play a few more years at the best level. We are World Cup champions and we want to do like our brothers from France 98 and win the European championship.” Giroud has 39 goals from 97 games; there are milestones to hit. He is targeting a century of caps and is third in the list of France goalscorers, two behind Michel Platini, 12 behind Thierry Henry. “It’s going to be difficult to reach Thierry Henry’s 51,” he says. “But you never know.” The former Arsenal forward is used to being written off. Giroud has his critics when he plays for France but he performed the role of non-scoring striker to perfection at the 2018 World Cup, working hard and making space for Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé. He is a team player and Lampard has seen the worth of Giroud, who can count himself unlucky if he does not start when Chelsea return at Aston Villa on Sunday. “All through my career I have always been through difficulties,” he says. “The best thing to do is to bounce back. I was close to leaving the club but I didn’t really want to. I needed game-time for the Euros and it’s true I spoke with the gaffer regarding maybe letting me go for another challenge. He said ‘yes’. He understood my situation. He was a player and we always had a great understanding regarding my future. “When he told me that I was going to have more chances to show, I just trusted him, and I really want to fight for it, like I have done before at Arsenal. My motivation was very high. He gave me the opportunity and I just tried to pay him back. It feels like a new start. I want to win more trophies with Chelsea.” Lockdown has presented challenges for players. Giroud has seen Chelsea move closer to landing the RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner – “he is going to be a very good signing and more motivation for strikers” is his verdict – and knows this might not have been an ideal time to be a free agent. “I read in the newspaper that coronavirus influenced my decision. You cannot forget the situation, but when the club wanted to give me another year because I have shown a strong character, I felt that my journey at Chelsea was not over. I would have felt very sad if I had left the club in January.” Chelsea are rebuilding. Werner is on his way, Hakim Ziyech is due to arrive from Ajax and Bayer Leverkusen’s Kai Havertz is another target. But Giroud believes he has much to offer. He bristles when asked whether it will be good for him that teams can use five substitutes, even though he has the second-best scoring record off the bench in Premier League history. “Why, personally?” he says, laughing a little defensively. “I’ve been the super sub but I want to make the gaffer’s choices even more difficult.” Giroud is raring to go, though he admits Chelsea’s players had some fretful discussions about the merits of Project Restart during the pandemic’s peak. “We were not very comfortable to come back because we were in the worst period of the virus. We had a few video calls together and I can say one month and a half ago we didn’t feel very comfortable to come back. But because the Premier League and the PFA gave us all details of the security we will get, the training protocols and what is being done to keep everybody safe, we felt we could come back.” N’Golo Kanté, Giroud’s France and Chelsea teammate, was reluctant to return at first. “I believe like all the players he had at-risk people in his entourage so that’s why he didn’t feel very comfortable,” Giroud says. “But I respect that. We are very glad to have him back and I think he will definitely be here for the first game. He is looking good.” The discussion turns to the Black Lives Matter protests and why it is important for white players to speak out against racism. Giroud is asked whether he could take a knee if he scores against Villa. “It’s something I could do. Any kind of support we can do will always make a difference. It’s not enough to say I’m against racism, now you have to fight against it.” Giroud looks and sounds comfortable. He has been watching the Bundesliga and was surprised by the intensity of the tackling when Bayern Munich beat Borussia Dortmund, though he knows it will be strange to play without supporters. Games behind closed doors are a must, though, and Chelsea have a job to finish. They are fourth and visit Leicester for an FA Cup quarter-final next Sunday. Giroud trusts they are capable of picking up where they left off. But has the picture changed? Chelsea were almost granted a free hit at the start of the season. They were under a transfer embargo last summer, had an inexperienced manager who turned to the kids and made no signings in January. Now there is pressure; Champions League qualification is theirs to lose. How will they handle it? “We have a very competitive team, with a good alchemy between the youngsters and experienced players,” Giroud says. “We expect new signings because it’s been two transfer windows but I have a lot of expectation about this squad.” Time has passed and Abraham is fit again. Giroud has more to prove. “Three and half months later and it is totally different,” he says. “I kept my fitness, running in the park. I will give my best to be back in the team. I’m excited.”