That intense feeling, the sound, the colour, the vibes. An electric atmosphere that ripples in and around the stadium in the build-up to a massive game like a semi-final of a European competition, a cup final, or the final day of a league season with something on the line.
There are few places that bring the noise and a big match atmosphere than Anfield under the lights on a big European night. Teams fear facing Liverpool away.
Italian for “biscuit”, it is a term used when two teams enter a final group game or league fixture knowing a particular results – usually a draw – eliminates a third side and suits both the teams playing just fine. It originates from historical horse-racing cheats, where targeted horses were fed a ‘biscuit’ laced with sedatives prior to a race. In football, sometimes teams genuinely play for a point and there is no outright collusion. If a scoreline suits both sides it’s natural they play to that result. The term is rooted in Italian football but applies wherever groups are involved.
The classic biscotto – before the word existed – was West Germany 1-0 Austria at the 1982 World Cup. When West Germany scored early, both sides knew a 1-0 scoreline would send them both through to the next phase at Algeria’s expense. The crowd booed, the Algerian FA lodged a complaint but the result was upheld. It led to future tournaments changing format where all last group matches kick off simultaneously. A modern twist saw Algeria play Austria at the 2026 World Cup, where a 2-2 going into injury time would send both teams through. Instead, Algeria scored in injury time, before a dramatic 96th minute equaliser from Austria locked in the script. 3-3, both went through.
Defenders can't have eyes everywhere at once. A blindside run is a clever ploy by an attacking player to exploit this. It takes good timing to make the run at the correct time. Too early and the defender will see you, too late and the passing option is gone. Players like Aguero made a career out of blindside runs to deceive defenders.
Sergio Agüero was a master of the blindside run - he would position himself out of sight of the defender and sprint into the unmarked space in the box at the precise moment to exploit the defenders.
Faking to go in one direction with your body to send a defender the wrong way, then going the other. It's a simple skill and tactic but can be very effective when done well. All it takes is a drop of the shoulder and the defender goes. A good winger can dribble and use the body feint at speed to fool defenders. It's less of a show-off skill than a stepover and a more effective way to get past defenders.
Messi's body feints are subtle but devastating - he'd drop his left shoulder, the defender would shift their weight, and he'd already be past them on the other side before they could recover. Ask Jerome Boateng about it, Messi made him comically fall over in a game as big as Champions League semi-final with a devastating body feint.