Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!
After eight months and 252 games, Bigger Cup has finally reached the bare-knuckle stage of this bizarrely elongated competition. We get the thrilling spectacle of three repeat fixtures from the league phase, thanks to the suits wanting to make this the most thrilling and profitable product possible. The world demands more Galatasaray v Liverpool, extra Kieran Trippier v Lamine Yamal and plenty of Pep Guardiola against whichever former Anfield stalwart is in the Real Madrid dugout this week. It is very much Groundhog Day for the TikTok generation, with Uefa desperately hoping that short attention spans mean everyone has already forgotten these earlier matchups.
Anyway, do not adjust your TV sets this midweek because there are – count them – six English teams still standing, even if Tottenham are punch-drunk from being the Premier League’s 16th best team. Their very interim head coach Igor Tudor blurted an inspirational “our first aim is the Premier League, this needs to be said publicly” before tackling Atlético Madrid on Tuesday. It is also out in the open that he is in charge of an incredibly poor team who bungled their way to mixing it with the elite by defeating an even worse Manchester United in Bigger Vase last season. The Croatian has already overseen losses to European giants Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace, so is likely to get his wish of focusing on his plan to avoid a trip to Lincoln next season soon enough. Admittedly, Spurs finished fourth in the Bigger Cup group table, so maybe they are more suited to trips to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano than Turf Moor.
