A SHINY ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
Considering he’s spent the best part of a decade carrying Tottenham Hotspur and, more recently, Bayern Munich, it’s small wonder Harry Kane’s back finally gave out in the closing stages of the German side’s Big Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Real Madrid. With just minutes of the 90 remaining and the Spanish champions a goal behind on aggregate, even Carlo Ancelotti’s Wembley arch of an eyebrow must have scaled unprecedented heights as the England captain’s number went up and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting lumbered on in his place, becoming one of two under-achieving former Stoke City strikers on the pitch in a thrilling semi-final between two of the continent’s elite. The substitute would also become one of two Erics to finish on the losing side, as it was his fellow Britannia Stadium alumnus, Joselu, who became the unlikely headline thief as Madrid came from behind to stage a late smash-and-grab because … well, of course they bloody well did.
