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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
John Brewin

Forget the hype machine – it’s the minnows who offer European interest

Europe Arsenal Football Lionel Messi Bigger Cup Football Daily Chelsea Como Gianni Infantino Ken Muir
Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman brings some vibes to the Bigger Cup portraits session. Photograph: Florencia Tan Jun/Uefa/Getty Images

CAN’T TOUCH THIS?

♫ ♪ 🎵 🎶 The champions ♫ ♪ 🎵 🎶! Bigger Cup is back, baby! Red-hot action from the world’s premier club competition across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Bigger Vase and Tin Pot clubs must wait for their slice of European action until after an international break almost as long as the Geopolitics World Cup itself. Rather like Gianni Infantino’s North American investment roadshow, Bigger Cup, with its revolving Swiss system, 36 teams reduced to 24 following 114 matches, has become baggier than MC Hammer’s trousers [now there’s a reference for the young readers – Football Daily Ed]. Back in Clive Tyldesley’s ITV pomp, ties such as Liverpool v Atlético, Napoli v Arsenal, and Real Madrid v Inter moved the dial, filling boozers and column inches.

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