Among other things, it is a tale of two World Cup winners. Julian Alvarez’s first start since the World Cup final could come for Manchester City against Chelsea on Sunday. Indeed his last club goal, separated by strikes against Poland and Australia plus a World Cup semi-final brace against Croatia, was for Manchester City against Chelsea: in the Carabao Cup in November.
Enzo Fernandez was an Argentina teammate of Alvarez’s in Qatar; when the midfielder won the award as the World Cup’s best young player, perhaps it was at the striker’s expense. Each has had a swift rise and they lined up together in May, too, when Alvarez scored six goals in River Plate’s 8-1 thrashing of Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores. They left their homeland for Europe soon after; if Chelsea had their way, they might be on the pitch again at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, albeit on different sides.
