A big week now approaches for Tottenham – while no manager will ever admit to being happy about losing, Spurs' 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday may actually do Antonio Conte a favour.
The Italian has hinted at his desire to bring in reinforcements this month. Until this point, Spurs have not given into his apparent demands, but another loss to Chelsea might force their hand.
The last week of the transfer window is about to begin and there is every reason to think it could define Spurs' season given the clues on show at Stamford Bridge.
This contest arguably lacked the usual lustre in the build-up given how recently they tussled in the EFL Cup, a two-legged semi-final that left the two clubs looking worlds apart.
Even Conte himself was damning in his appraisal of their respective outlooks, suggesting there was no comparison between his side and the team that won the Champions League last season.
Chelsea won their EFL Cup tie 3-0 on aggregate, thus Conte knew changes were going to be required here.
He returned to his former club with a plan, but perhaps few expected him to go – for want of a better phrase – 'full Mourinho'.
The 'Special One' built much of his reputation on being tough to beat, and Conte certainly made several decisions that were Jose Mourinho-esque, not least the fact he deployed full-backs in front of full-backs on the flank as the Italian seemingly set his side up to be functional rather than entertaining.
That's not to say Chelsea didn't find some joy. Mason Mount proved a nuisance with his movement in the half spaces in attack, with Spurs struggling to pick him up as he seemed to fall outside of the jurisdiction of everyone in defence and midfield.
That was evident as early as the first minute as his cross found Romelu Lukaku, who volleyed over – later, they combined in exactly the same way but the Belgium striker completely missed his kick.
Eventually Spurs reacted to Mount's presence with another Mourinhoism, as Pierre-Emil Hojbjerg slotted in to plug the gap in that area, something Mourinho's central midfielders often used to do in his classic Chelsea sides that went with two banks of four.
With Harry Kane accompanied by Steven Bergwijn in the Lucas Moura role up top, Spurs' grand plan was pretty clear as they hoped to be able to capitalise on any rare forays forward – it looked as though they had as well, with the Dutchman picking out the England captain to net just before half-time, only for the goal to be wiped out for a slight push on Thiago Silva.
But there was seemingly an ulterior motive surrounding Conte's selection and tactics as well, as he appeared to be sending message to sporting director Fabio Paratici.
Three viable and available central attacking players were completely left out, with Dele Alli, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso all missing – the latter even confirmed on social media that he was fit.
Harvey White, still awaiting his Premier League debut, and Dane Scarlett, a 17-year-old, were selected ahead of them on the bench, with Conte's decisions here a not-so-subtle evaluation of the attacking midfielders available to him.
The fact is, this came just two days after Conte said he hoped "the club will listen to me" regarding their transfer dealings before the end of the month – he didn't reveal what he had put across to his employers, though these exclusions were surely a hint at the very least.
Given the options otherwise available to him – as in the players he trusts in midfield – Conte perhaps didn't actually have much of a choice to deploy this set-up.
But can Spurs realistically hope to qualify for the Champions League with their only trusted central midfielders being Hojbjerg, Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp? You would think not, and certainly not on the evidence of this match, with Spurs barely laying a glove on Chelsea bar the disallowed Kane goal as the hosts were allowed to control the midfield.
Of course, it's worth saying Spurs were also a little unfortunate. Whichever way you look at it, the disallowing of Kane's goal was harsh, and Hakim Ziyech's gorgeous opener was a moment of magic.
Silva's second was controversial as well because the foul that was awarded from which Mount set up the Brazilian appeared to be questionable.
Yet even if they had still been within touching distance of Chelsea heading into the latter stages, a quick glance at the benches showed an incredible gulf in talent available to the managers.
There's a lot of work to be done with Spurs' squad and the next week could make or break their season.
I don’t expect political statements from Germany team -Thomas Hitzlsperger
German players are unlikely to make any major political statements at Euro 2024 after their World Cup protest in Qatar was met with a tepid domestic reception, ex-international Thomas Hitzlsperger has predicted.
Seven European nations at the 2022 global showpiece – including England – initially planned to wear ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armbands but were dissuaded following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.
Instead, the Germans covered their mouths for a World Cup team photograph in protest, while the tournament remained overshadowed by the host nation’s record on human rights, from its treatment of migrant workers to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships.
Hitzlsperger, who bookended his playing career with spells at Aston Villa and Everton and a decade ago became the first former Premier League player to come out as gay, said: “It ended for the German team not in a good way. Funnily enough, back home a lot of people criticised it whereas abroad it was seen as a big statement.
“After the tournament, some of the representatives of the German national team just said, ‘look, at the Euros we talk about football, nothing else’. So I don’t expect much from the team similar to the World Cup.
“I think the England team were the first ones to play, and they decided against the One Love armband. A lot of the German players, they felt a responsibility, they felt ‘we’ve got to make a statement’.
“They couldn’t rely on the other teams. I think there were seven teams in the end that tried to stick together and wear the armband, and then they all collapsed, basically. And that’s when the Germans were like, ‘We still have to do something’.”
The former midfielder, who is now serving as an ambassador for this summer’s tournament in his home country, agrees that Germany’s poor showing likely influenced negative sentiment around the protest.
He said: “Football can be brutal. If you win, you set the tone and whatever you do it’s accepted and people look up to you. If you don’t win, you lose football matches, then you better not say anything.”
Even before the tournament, said the 42-year-old, the German public was already divided over whether or not the national team – or anyone – had a responsibility to act.
“It was a very difficult debate and it never came to a conclusion,” said Hitzlsperger.
“Some said it’s too much politics, others said it was right what we did, and that’s where we ended. That was our opportunity to say ‘we’re hosting a European Championship, let’s have a really good time together’, talk about responsibility when it comes to sustainability but don’t teach the world what to do.”
Organisers hope the tournament itself will instead do the talking, with ambitions to become be the most sustainable European Championship of all time through the use of entirely pre-existing stadia run by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, a zoned match schedule reducing travel distances for teams and fans, and the creation of a climate fund dedicated to projects focused on mitigating tournament-related unavoidable emissions.
It is also the second major football tournament, following in the footsteps of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, to sign a human rights declaration.
UEFA has stated EURO 2024 “embraces gender identities and expressions as a spectrum that is not limited to a binary concept”, with gender-neutral toilets available at all venues and similarly neutral lanes outside the stadia to accommodate a range of gender expressions for procedures like body checks.
Ultimately, says Hitzlsperger, “the German FA, UEFA, the German government and the foreign ministry, (will do) everything we can do, without putting the team under too much pressure to say ‘every game you have to make a statement’.
“You have to know who is responsible for what, and unfortunately what happened in Qatar really made the players aware of the consequences if you take a stance on human rights.”
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot in contention to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp when he leaves as Liverpool manager at the end of the campaign.
Slot guided the Dutch club to their first title in six years last season and currently has them in second place in the Eredivisie table having won the Dutch Cup at the weekend.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool consider Slot to fit all the criteria set out in their recruitment process, although they are still looking at other contenders.
Inter Milan beat rivals AC Milan to secure 20th Serie A title
Inter Milan claimed their second Serie A title in four seasons after beating AC Milan 2-1 at San Siro.
Goals from Francesco Acerbi and Marcus Thuram gave Inter the three points they required to be crowned champions, although they had to endure a nervous final 10 minutes after Fikayo Tomori pulled a goal back for the home team.
Inter wrapped up the title with five games to spare, standing 17 points clear of their city rivals, who needed a win or draw to delay celebrations.
But they were on the back foot after Acerbi’s 18th-minute header opened the scoring, before Thuram’s shot early in the second half put Inter well on the way to securing a 20th league crown.
Tomori’s effort set up a tense finish, though, in an ill-tempered clash, and there were red cards for Inter’s Denzel Dumfries and two AC Milan players – Theo Hernandez and Davide Calabria – during stoppage time.
Bologna, meanwhile, stayed firmly on course for Champions League qualification by beating Roma 3-1 at the Stadio Olimpico.
Bologna moved just two points behind third-placed Juventus – and seven clear of Roma in fifth – following a dominant display.
Oussama El Azzouzi opened the scoring after 14 minutes, and Joshua Zirkzee doubled the lead with a left-footed shot on the stroke of half-time.
Roma gave themselves a lifeline when Sardar Azmoun netted after the break, but Bologna kept the upper hand and sealed all three points through Alexis Saelemaekers’ goal midway through the second period.
And in Spain’s LaLiga, second-half goals from Youssef En-Nesyri and Isaac Romero delivered a 2-1 home victory for Sevilla over Mallorca, with Abdon Prats claiming a late consolation for the visitors.
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