NOT

MOUSA DEMBELE

IN TURIN last season, the Tottenham midfielder looked like one of the best defensive midfielders in the world as his team drew with Juventus. On Tuesday in St Petersburg the Belgian looked like he had never played the game before. It has been noted at Spurs that Dembele often fades as the season lengthens and this is a problem for his manager Mauricio Pochettino to solve.

FRIDAY NIGHT FRIGHTS

SO NOW that the World Cup is almost over, we reconcile ourselves to the miserable fact that the new Premier League season will start with a game on a Friday night. We hope that the fine weather is still with us so we can all spend the evening in the garden instead. Friday nights are for lots of things but not one of them is football.

PIERLUIGI COLLINA

THE great Italian is chairman of the referees’ committee at the World Cup and likes to talk. A lot. In Moscow he has proclaimed that the behaviour of players towards match officials is exemplary, especially during and after VAR referrals. That’s nonsense of course. The hounding of referees by players remains one of football’s greatest ills and if Collina can’t see that, then who will?