The Warm-Up: 13 years on from Istanbul, Liverpool go again

Updated 25/05/2018 at 07:12 GMT

Plus: Extra-time brings excitement and joy for Lyon, Pochettino's bluff works and your own Mkhitaryan doll...

UEFA Champions League Final, 25th May 2005, Ataturk Stadium, Istanbul, AC Milan 3 v Liverpool 3, ( Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties), Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard (left) with manager Rafael Benitez celebrate with the trophy

Image credit: Getty Images

FRIDAY’S BIG STORIES

Tension mounts as Liverpool prepare for Real Madrid

How are you feeling, Liverpool fans? Nervous? Confident? Giddy? Sick? A weird combination of them all? Probably the latter, because this is what football does to us, it confuses our emotions and makes us think strange things.

Europa League

‘We throw everything we have into that’ - Klopp turns focus to Premier League after European exit

2 hours ago

The Champions League final takes place tomorrow, and while there have been one or two bumps along the way, not least the 1,000 or so fans who saw their flights to Kiev cancelled because a landing slot at the airport hadn’t been confirmed, this could be something pretty special.

Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool) and Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid) - Final Champions League 2018

Image credit: Getty Images

Let’s be honest, from a purely neutral perspective everyone should really want Liverpool to win, not only because they’re underdogs but because it’s getting extremely boring to see Real win every year. This would make it four out of the last five Champions Leagues, beating someone more interesting in the finals every time, and while everyone can appreciate an all-conquering dynasty, let’s have a little variety.

If you are still nervous, Liverpool fans, watch this on how they got to the final to soothe you a little. Now get out that paper bag and breathe deeply into it.

Bronze takes gold as Lyon win the Champions League

The great thing about football, all sport even, is that it can turn from tedious to thrilling on a dime. Which is exactly what happened in the Women’s Champions League final on Thursday evening, as Lyon and Wolfsburg played out 90 minutes of normal time boredom, before all hell broke loose in the additional 30 minutes.

Lyon Women celebrate with the trophy during the UEFA Womens Champions League Final between VfL Wolfsburg and Olympique Lyonnais on May 24, 2018 in Kiev, Ukraine

Image credit: Getty Images

Nothing much had happened, bar Lyon being denied a goal that looked very much like it had crossed the line, in normal time, but by the 13th minute of extra-time Lyon were 3-1 up and Wolfsburg had a player sent off.

Wolfsburg initially took the lead, going ahead through Pernille Harder, before goals from Amandine Henry, Eugénie Le Sommer and Ada Hegerberg – the latter scoring her 15th goal of the competition, a record – put Lyon way out ahead. Camille Abily added a fourth, with a red card for Alexandra Popp thrown in there somewhere, as Lyon lifted the title.

“We push for more and more in these big games,” said England’s Lucy Bronze, who moved to France at the end of last season. “Lyon and Wolfsburg are trendsetting and pushing women’s football.”

Pochettino’s posturing works as he signs a new deal

At the time, Mauricio Pochettino suggesting a few weeks ago that “someone else” could be manager of Tottenham next season seemed a little odd. But now it might just make a little more sense, as presumably the suggestion that he might skip away from the club did him little harm in the negotiations for his new five-year contract, which was signed on Monday.

Pochettino bleibt bis 2023 bei Tottenham

Image credit: SID

“Daniel [Levy, Spurs chairmain] and I have spoken at length about our aspirations for this football club,” Pochettino said. “We both share the same philosophies to achieve long-term, sustainable success.

“This is a special club — we always strive to be creative in the way we work both on and off the pitch and will continue to stick to our principles in order to achieve the success this club deserves.”

The news will obviously come as a relief to Spurs fans, not least because the manager is staying, but also because you suspect that he would not have committed himself to the club unless they had promised to spend some significant money on the squad. Could this suggest a busy summer in the transfer market lies ahead?

IN OTHER NEWS

Presumably you, much like the Warm-Up, have always wanted your own Henrikh Mkhitaryan doll, right? Well, friends, you’re in luck. COMING SOON: special features presuambly include running around with ostensible purpose, losing in finals and patiently spelling his name to call centre operatives.

HEROES AND ZEROS

Hero: Gareth Southgate

England Manager, Gareth Southgate speaks to the media during an England press conference at Wembley Stadium on May 17, 2018 in London, England. Gareth Southgate's 23 man squad was announced on Wednesday.

Image credit: Eurosport

Time will tell as to whether Gareth Southgate will actually be able to improve England’s major tournament performances, but all indications so far suggest he is at least a thoroughly good egg. Not least because he recognises that some things are far more important than football, such as the birth of Fabian Delph’s child: the Manchester City man will be allowed to travel home during the World Cup should his wife go into labour on the planned due date, which is June 30, between the end of the group stage and the start of the second round.

ZERO: John Terry

Perhaps you don’t need a specific reason for this classification, but if you do then it’s the news that John Terry might only sign a new contract at Aston Villa, assuming they win promotion, if he’s allowed not to play against Chelsea next season.

John Terry of Aston Villa celebrates victory after the Sky Bet Championship match between Aston Villa and Reading at Villa Park on April 3, 2018 in Birmingham, England

Image credit: Getty Images

This of course shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone, but one wonders if he has any other stipulations. He be allowed to miss games against any member of the Ferdinand family, for example. Or matches when the opposition centre-forward looks quite quick. Or when there’s a bit of traffic on the drive from London to Birmingham. Bless him, the precious snowflake.

HAT TIP

It took the court just 10 minutes to declare Parma FC bankrupt in March 2015. The quick decision ended months of torment in which the club had been docked points on several occasions; players and staff had gone without their wages; games had been postponed because they could not pay stewards; the club had been sold – twice – for €1; and, having finished sixth in Serie A the season before, they had sunk to the bottom of the league.

In the Guardian, Yousef Teclab tells the tale of how Parma came back to Serie A.