Anyone unfortunate enough to have used the shambolic TransPennine Express rail service between Leeds and Manchester this winter could be forgiven for suspecting the distance separating the cities has somehow increased.
It was a goal to make history and to achieve the seemingly impossible – thrill across both sides of the north London divide.
It was a consecration, the spiritual overtones entirely appropriate. Lionel Messi not only emulated the deity of Argentinian football,
You drop Cristiano Ronaldo and the man you pick instead of him best not miss. Gonçalo Ramos is 21. He made his international debut last month.
Manchester United’s canter of a victory in the opening leg made this an easy night. That was the theory and so the practice proved:
In the end, it was a triumph of France’s savoir-faire, their ability to manage this type of occasion, to get the job done – even when below their best.
From first to last, the drum beats were relentless from the small section of Senegal supporters. They pounded in the temples of everybody present, creating an oppressive backdrop to this high-stakes occasion.
Just when Jürgen Klopp thought that things could not get any worse for his Liverpool team and, especially, here on the south coast.
For Lionel Messi, the crowning glory beckons. As Argentina’s gaze zeroed in on a third World Cup triumph, it was impossible to ignore their iconic leader and the compelling narrative around him.
This had been billed as the night a rested Kylian Mbappé would run riot. He ended up doing exactly that but, first of all, France’s old stagers laid the platform.
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