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All Andy Brassell posts on WhoScored.com Articles RSS

The Expert: Benfica show champions’ grit to edge Sporting in derby

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Dec 12 2016 16:45
The Expert: Benfica show champions’ grit to edge Sporting in derby It’s fast becoming a third certainty in life - death, taxes, and Benfica win in the end. For those hoping for the Liga title race to blown wide open, Sunday’s Lisbon derby - or at least its result - was a disappointment, with the champions re-establishing a four-point lead over Porto, wi...
Categories: The Expert

Neither Benfica nor Sporting in best fettle for Lisbon derby

by Andy Brassell at Thursday, Dec 8 2016 16:45
Neither Benfica nor Sporting in best fettle for Lisbon derby “We’re 90% focused on this game.” The pre-match words of Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Jorge Jesus were hard to get out of one’s head after watching the Lisbon club crash out of Europe on Wednesday night. By losing at Legia Warsaw, Sporting sacrificed a potential Europa Le...
Categories: Top Match Preview

The Expert: Lille’s rebuild already underway as takeover awaits

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Dec 5 2016 16:00
The Expert: Lille’s rebuild already underway as takeover awaits How great is a great escape if it’s already been done relatively recently? In the words of Sunday’s edition of L’Equipe, “only two weeks have gone by and we’re already asking ourselves if Lille are still concerned with the battle to stay up.” If the briefest of gl...
Categories: The Expert

The Expert: Tondela hit back as Guimarães’ golden chance goes begging

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Nov 28 2016 16:30
The Expert: Tondela hit back as Guimarães’ golden chance goes begging He was never shy to put in a shift as a player but still, Petit’s coaching career has been a war of attrition so far. As a midfielder with Benfica and Portugal - and a close confidante of Cristiano Ronaldo in the national team - he was the sort of player you always would have wanted beside you...
Categories: The Expert

The Expert: Nice show their fortitude, even minus Mario

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Nov 21 2016 13:14
The Expert: Nice show their fortitude, even minus Mario If ever the Nice bubble was going to burst, then surely it was going to be here. Having succumbed to their first Ligue 1 defeat of the season at Caen just before the international break, it must have seemed like an interminable wait to get back on the horse - especially as Lucien Favre’s team ...
Categories: The Expert

The Expert: Quaresma to the rescue after Portugal’s wobble

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Nov 14 2016 16:00
The Expert: Quaresma to the rescue after Portugal’s wobble “Scoring lots of goals is the best medicine,” said the headline on Sunday morning’s edition of O Jogo ahead of Portugal’s meeting with Latvia, and the numbers have already become the bottom line, just four games into the European champions’ qualifying campaign for the 2...
Categories: The Expert

The Expert: Garcia faces a wait to rebuild Marseille

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Nov 7 2016 16:00
The Expert: Garcia faces a wait to rebuild Marseille “At half-time, I could have replaced everybody.” Rudi Garcia was always going to be forced into a few blunt truths in his opening weeks as Olympique de Marseille’s new coach, but Friday night’s loss at Montpellier meant that the sharper end of his straight-talking tongue was ...
Categories: The Expert

Porto already playing catch-up ahead of season-defining O Clássico

by Andy Brassell at Friday, Nov 4 2016 12:00
Porto already playing catch-up ahead of season-defining O Clássico “It’s decisive”. Speaking after Wednesday night’s Champions League win over Club Brugge - a vital result in the context of Porto’s season - Maxi Pereira already had his eyes on Sunday’s O Clássico showdown with Benfica, and didn’t even attempt to hide...
Categories: Top Match Preview

The Expert: Braga under pressure to keep Europa League flag flying

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Oct 17 2016 17:45
The Expert: Braga under pressure to keep Europa League flag flying It may not be a sentiment that’s universally shared, but the prospect of Europa League action offers a frisson of excitement to Portuguese clubs. That’s particularly the case for Braga, finalists in 2011 when they were edged out in Dublin by their compatriots, André Villas-Boas&rs...
Categories: The Expert

France’s G force aids post-Euro recovery

by Andy Brassell at Monday, Oct 10 2016 13:40
France’s G force aids post-Euro recovery Flourishing at international level is about a combination of persistence, momentum and opportunity, and rarely have those trio of features been as boldly displayed together in recent times as by Kevin Gameiro. The 29-year-old always seemed destined to be a player’s player - respected and admir...
Categories: Player Focus