What Can can do, Andy Carroll did better

Eamon Dunphy was right. And then he was wrong. And then he was right again. It can be hard to keep up with the Dunph, sometimes, writes Liam Mackey.

But, whatever about his endlessly flexible views on Messi, Ronaldo and Higuain, the RTÉ panel’s senior ex-pro was bang on the money when he described the number Juventus did on Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday night as “beautiful”.

And so, in a strange way, it was. Strange, because romantics everywhere would most probably have approached the first-leg of the semi-final with hope brimming in their hearts that Monaco’s bright young things — so fast, so fluent, so fearless — would rise to their biggest occasion yet and, by putting on another scintillating show at home, confirm the widespread claims being made for them to be regarded as the most exciting new force in European football.