Portuguese star’s performance was beyond efficiency - it was alchemy

Real mess as Madrid end up with national pariah Julen Lopetegui at the helm

This tournament may be first World Cup in while when pure talent makes the difference

Suspicions of Russia and its president means Western expectations are very low

Salah’s injury and Karius’s disastrous display combine

Real Madrid may be the best team in the world, but Jürgen Klopp is the best manager

The Ukrainian city is in football mode, but reminders of the violence are always there

United boss Jose Mourinho blames FA Cup defeat on Lukaku and Fellaini absence

Beware of the recent ‘defending your title’ curse, but City’s style means they could soar

Liverpool’s match-winner plumps for possibly the worst opportunity in soccer

Arsene Wenger’s side will get a lesson on what they lack when they face Atlético

AS Roma’s early confidence rapidly dissolved at Anfield

Club's strict financial model worked well for the manager and board, if not for supporters

De Bruyne’s the better all-rounder, but the Liverpool striker is astonishing

City coach’s high-minded approach sets him up for criticism but record speaks for itself

Roman Abramovich needs to adopt a new outlook if no longer willing to spend big

The narratives surrounding the country right now leave little room for organisers' attempts at positive spin

Might Lukaku’s good performances have more to do with style than with personal qualities?

Disillusioned fans vent ire at rich owners who lack a coherent strategy on the game

Dortmund will not produce half-and-half Red Bull scarves, cash killing Premier League

Contrast between Lukaku and Morata’s performance was the story of the match

Engrained culture of battling for a ‘cause’ familiar to Real Madrid and Barcelona

Gifted Frenchman’s natural position is clearly not as a shield in front of back four

Klopp and Pochettino disagreed on penalties, but game was example of where top level football is going

NFL system would prevent the new practice from being too finicky and overbearing

Armenian will thrive at Arsenal while Sánchez can show his creativity at United

Most supporters were happy to draw a line under manager’s time in charge

There was a lot more at stake than a childhood dream in Coutinho’s move to Catalonia

Cash is king for the Notorious but he now needs a new dream to chase

Pep Guardiola’s side are quickly becoming the best team the league has ever seen

Despite Mourinho’s protestations, City’s clear superiority is now plain for all to see

The Workers’ Cup, a film about the hard lives of stadium labourers, is sad and revealing

He’s not a winger at all – football terminology needs to catch up with changes in the game

A criticism of the West Brom manager is the way his teams tend to switch off after 40 points

Irish passion no match for Danish brains as lack of a plan is shown up in Dublin

Ireland’s most creative player likely to feature against Denmark only if Plan A is failing

Everyone knows the top-level football is elsewhere, but it’s not about that anymore

United surely haven’t spent £322m to be history’s most expensive long-ball team

Manager just needs trophies now to reinforce the real progress he has made at Tottenham

The managers showed how to avoid blaming the players while blaming the players

Anfield draw exposes gulf between respective managers’ footballing philosophy

Martin O’Neill’s side again proved why they are such a hard team to kill off

Republic manager to start with his most physically powerful line-up against Wales

Callum O’Dowda’s composure could keep James McClean out in Cardiff

Striking to hear O’Neill cite the number of season tickets sold during his time in charge

Many on the board believed it was wrong to play on the day of the Catalan referendum

Liverpool have a better chance of success if they keep taking the game to the opposition

Filling the void left by a man who scored 40 per cent of their league goals a real problem

Arsenal manager looks to have given up the fight in this era of nine figure transfer fees

Hoolahan’s absence felt in final quarter as O’Neill’s men fail to capitalise on red card

Ken Early: With a solid game plan, smaller countries can overcome more talented opposition

Arter, Hendrick and McCarthy can form Ireland’s midfield unit for next few seasons

Most takeovers by wealthy owners end in failure and it simply adds to fans’ alienation

Even in defeat McGregor will continue to polarise opinion and nowhere more than his homeland

Dubliner never stood a chance against the master but comes away with $100m in the bank

Mayweather will try to make his opponent feel lost and lonely in the boxing ring

Current Chelsea manager wants players who are tactically flexible – and he won’t tolerate slacking

This is the premiership, not ‘Oliver Twist’, and Rose was right to ask for more money

Brazilian not moving to PSG for the challenge – money remains his bottom line

Ireland struggled to get going in a game they would have been expecting to win at home

Aviva treated to a fun evening as Martin O’Neill’s men warm-up nicely for Austria

Criticism of Paul Pogba ignores context – no one can run the game in Mourinho’s United

Jose Mourinho’s side back in Champions League after win over Ajax in Stockholm

Game takes on symbolic and emotional importance for Manchester United players

There has always been a clear time to say goodbye even for the best managers

Mino Raiola made €49 million from Paul Pogba’s transfer due to inconsistent system

Shankly’s club along with the rest of the Premier League are the ultimate neoliberalists

Banned Burnley midfielder right to highlight the link between the media and gambling

Being praised will be no consolation to Tottenham if they keep missing out on trophies

Manchester United manager’s tactics were once again devoted to nullifying opposition

Racial unity symbolised by France’s World Cup winners did not survive in post-9/11 world

Brazil captain was a self-styled free spirit who fell victim to his own contradictions

Everton manager’s comments on Ross Barkley reflect reality of Premier League football

Martin O’Neill knows he will need his frontliners back for Austria qualifier

Referee did not send off Bale because he would have been accused of ruining the game

American democracy is in crisis, and Timothy Snyder’s book is a call to fight back

Referee Nicola Rizzoli could also have sent off Gareth Bale for tackle on John O’Shea

Not a personality leader, but it’s obvious he really cares about playing for his country

Dignified, sophisticated play in Man City v Liverpool light years ahead of United’s form

Barcelona will be lucky to meet another team that self-destructs like Paris Saint-Germain did

Arsène Wenger dropping his lead striker at Liverpool is not giving off a good impression

For many years, Zlatan and English football regarded each other with mutual scorn

Coach’s system was brutally exposed as world-class individuals were overrun in Paris

Ranieri had best team last season, not the best players – this time he has neither

Arsenal fans endure the widest gap between what they want and what they have

Premier League has become so rich that domestic cups have shrunk into irrelevance

Most managers would have looked to shut Spurs down; Pep decided to try to outplay them

For all talk of United’s return to former style, in crunch manager opts for brawn over skill

Mourinho’s reasons for backing 2026 Fifa plans reveal true status of international game

Liverpool manager has transformed a number of players who struggled under Rodgers

Sports Review of 2016: Ken Early looks back at the major failings of Euro 2016

Yet again the Arsenal manager blamed the referee, but his men were simply outplayed

Tottenham Hotspur play with great intensity but there’s a problem: team has only one gear

Pep spurns idea that Premier League is tougher than others, but player quality is an issue

Premier League’s support for LGBT community ran into predictable opposition

England striker has been in the stocks for daring to insult the holy ideal of hard work

West Brom player knows now he is good enough for the top level, he has proven it

Under Martin O’Neill there is a steely determination and a willingness to hang in there

Should Anfield club sustain current scoring rate, they will win the Premier League title

Basic formula that brought success in the past has been ousted by newer methods