ONE DOWN, FOUR TO GO
In the years from 1998 to 2012, the glamorous, sun-kissed principality of Monaco on the French Riviera played host to the European Super Cup, a match in which the winners of Big Cup and Euro Vase meet and try to beat each other. Much like its English counterpart the Community Shield, the Super Cup only counts as a trophy if your team happens to win it, which means Chelsea’s dream of an unprecedented quintuple remains very much on the cards following their victory on penalties over Villarreal at Windsor Park last night.
Yes, Windsor Park. In Belfast, a city which was regarded as a surprise host for this European showpiece, even though its often narrow streets, its City Hall, its Cathedral Quarter, its Grand Opera House, its local castle and cathedral make it spookily similar to the Super Cup’s one-time spiritual home on the Cote d’Azur. Built on the Lagan, the river Supt Ted Hastings from Line of Duty famously didn’t come down in a bubble, Belfast extended a warm welcome to visiting Villarreal and Chelsea fans, with the latter group receiving an escort to the stadium from some of the accomplished flautists and percussionists whose famous annual July recitals are more readily associated with a different team “from the mainland” who play in blue.
Their hospitality was rewarded, as it was our bonfire-lighting, Lambeg drum-beating Norn Irish cousin No! No! No! We Want To March Down That Road Fiver and his fellow Chelsea, Linfield and O’Rangers fans who were left celebrating the first bit of what they hope will be much silverware to come for their teams this season. Following a 1-1 draw, Thomas Tuchel’s team prevailed on penalties after the manager made the controversial decision to replace first-choice goalkeeper Édouard Mendy with his £71m understudy Kepa Arrizabalaga specifically for the spot-kicks.
Having famously refused to leave the field when the glove was on the other hand two years ago, Arrizabalaga showed no such reluctance to seeing the fourth official hold his number up on this occasion and promptly won the trophy for his team with two saves. “When we came to Chelsea and we had the first cup game against Barnsley, we got the statistics and we were prepared,” said Tactics Tommy Tuchel after the game.
“Kepa had the best percentage at saving penalties. The analysis guys and the goalkeeper coaches showed me the data, then we spoke with the players that this [substitution] could happen when we play knockout games. Since then they have known. It’s fantastic how Édou accepts it. These guys are true team players. I’m happy for Kepa and I’m happy for Édou.”
Tuchel will have been less happy to see goalscorer Hakim Ziyech walk off using his shirt as a sling for his apparently dislocated shoulder, an injury that could potentially leave the unfortunate German banging his Lambeg one-handed for some weeks to come.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The answer I would like to give is when I no longer work here. Being inside the institution you run the risk that your answer is seen as demagoguery and a way of capturing the sympathy of the fans. After you stop belonging to an institution, that is the moment you can talk about the feelings that have linked you to this club” – Marcelo Bielsa on whether he has a special bond with Leeds fans after “resolving” his new contract.
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FIVER LETTERS
“Following Andy Korman’s letter [yesterday’s Fiver], I was delighted in 2018 when my team Huddersfield Town signed German World Cup winner Erik Durm. However I could not help but feel that a trick had been missed when we failed to complement his arrival with the purchase of Newcastle’s Paul Dummett” – Karim Fatih.
“Back in the late 1980s my club (Yeovil Town) had a defender named Denny Mundee. In the FA Cup second round we’d drawn with Torquay and the draw for the third round was made before the replay, and the winners would play Sheffield Wednesday. We were hoping that Denny Mundee had a slight injury. The headline could then read – ‘Mundee fit for Wednesday on Saturday’ … but we lost the replay” – Barrie David.
“I feel moved to respond to Andy Korman and Gerry Rickard’s headlines that might have been [Fiver Passim]. If the Premier League’s most fouled player had been persuaded to sign for Berlin’s less celebrated Bundesliga team this summer, thwarting a potential move to Amsterdam, we could have been reading ‘Union Banjax Union Jack’s Ajax Union’” – Basile Bailey.
“On the subject of fantastic footballer name puns dashed by events not transpiring – not to overlook the much wished for PJANIC ON THE STREETS OF LONDON – I was always keen for erstwhile Newcastle goalie Tim Krul to plan a future grand gesture of goodwill to some worthy charity or individual so large it gained national press coverage. KRUL TO BE KIND” – Matt Couldridge.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’ the day is … Karim Fatih.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Manchester City are prepared to pay €150m for the services of Harry Kane.
Leicester are on the verge of signing Southampton defender Jannik Vestergaard for £15m
Arsenal have abandoned their bid to sign the goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from Sheffield United after failing to meet the Blades’ £30m valuation.
The Gunners have joined Tottenham in the race to sign Fiorentina goal machine Dusan Vlahovic. Get your Thursday Rumour Mill here.
And on a busy news day in north London, Arsenal’s Joe Willock is nearing a £22m move to Newcastle after a breakthrough on personal terms.
Crystal Palace are selling an £87.5m stake in the club to USA! USA!! USA!!! businessman John Textor.
And Manchester City’s Phil Foden looks set to miss the first month of the domestic season with a persistent foot injury.
STILL WANT MORE?
Max Rushden can barely contain his excitement as a brand-new Premier League season promises renewed lust for life and more off-pitch strife.
Roy Keane at 50 and George Best doing George Best things? It can only be this week’s Classic YouTube.
Flawed, frenetic yet somehow still glorious, the top flight returns and so do the fans. Like Max, Jonathan Liew is ready to get back in the game.
‘It’s surreal’: Ben Fisher meets the Brentford fan Derek Burridge who watched them in the top flight 74 years ago …
… but history is against the Bees staying up, writes Richard Foster.
Andy Brassell writes that changes on and off the pitch at Bayern Munich will give hope to their title rivals in the Bundesliga battle.
‘The boys are excited’: Cesc Fabregas, now of Monaco, tells Andy Hunter he and his teammates are enthusiastic to take on PSG’s newest signing Lionel Messi.
Catch up with the latest moves in our women’s and men’s transfer interactives.
Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!
POUNDS, EUROS, IT’S ALL THE SAME REALLY ISN’T IT?
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• This article was amended on 13 August 2021 to correct an erroneous reference to Kai Havertz as the player who scored for Chelsea and was later injured during the Super Cup final – the footballer in question was Hakim Ziyech.
