A Tuesday in honor of the ball – 04/10/2024 – Juca Kfouri

It is known that frustrations are directly proportional to the expectations created around some special games.

It happened recently in the case of the expected classic between Manchester City and Arsenal for the leadership of the disputed Premier League, when the 0-0 was far less than imagined.

Last Tuesday (9), on the contrary, fulfilled what it promised and went further — and not just in football, but also in basketball.

What Real Madrid and Manchester City did at the Santiago Bernabéu left football lovers ecstatic in the draw with six goals, three of them extremely beautiful, in a classic with two comebacks.

Thanks to the time difference, the recital in Madrid ended, with enough time to rest the adrenaline, in Los Angeles the clash between Lakers and Warriors provided another enchanting spectacle.

On the Spanish pitch, despite the last-minute absence of Belgian Kevin De Bruyne, leaving Norwegian goalscorer Erling Haaland an orphan, the show ended up being stolen by goals from Englishman Phil Foden and Croatian Gvardiol, decisive in England’s 3-2 victory, and from Uruguayan Valverde, to declare the definitive draw.

A result that meant Spaniard Rodri’s 60th undefeated game with the Cidadãos shirt, the 13th draw.
He, English Madrid player Jude Bellingham and Argentinean Mac Allister, from Liverpool, make up the new trio of midfield emperors, joining fellow Madrid players Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, the sorcerer, and De Bruyne.

Brazilians Rodrygo, with another decisive goal against City, and Vinícius Júnior, with two goals, said they were present with a capital P in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, those first 90 minutes of which caution is expected to decide in the finals and which were frenetic from the opening second, to the point that the count was opened after two minutes and at 14 minutes it was 2-1 for the Spanish.

Football played at a blistering pace in front of 84,000 fans, without a foul simulation being seen, without a minute being wasted on wax.

Even Ukrainian goalkeeper Lunin, responsible for the miserable failure of Portuguese Bernardo Silva’s opening goal, was able to redeem himself with at least one great save.

Belgian goalkeeper Courtois missed Real, as did Walker, Aké and De Bruyne for the English.
On Wednesday (17), in Manchester, we expect everyone to be present, except Courtois, who is only expected to return to the pitch in June, still recovering from knee surgery.

From the pitch to the court, the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors, LeBron James on one side, Stephan Curry on the other, put on a show with the orange ball, although the final score of 134 to 120 for GSW does not reflect the permanent tension of the chase imposed by LAL, hosts of the classic, throughout the game.
LeBron was the scorer, with 33 points, the result of his endless talent and exuberant race.

Curry was more modest, leaving to his brother Klay Thompson, with 27 points, the role of the team’s top scorer, but he showed off his grace with 23, 18 of which were obtained in the six three-point shots he took, 100% successful.

Antony Davis was the absence felt for LAL and Draymond Green was the surprise for GSW, hitting five of the seven three-point shots he made.

Thanks, guys!

What would we do without you?

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