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Leicester’s manager flew to Italy to see his 96-year-old mother, won’t watch potential title-clinching game
Claudio Ranieri has better things to do than watch Spurs.
If Tottenham Hotspur fail to beat Chelsea on Monday, Leicester City will be Premier League champions. So how is Claudio Ranieri planning to watch and celebrate? By flying to Italy to see his mother. He won’t even be able to watch the game.
“I’d like to watch the Tottenham match but I’m on a flight back from Italy,” said Ranieri. “My mother is 96 years old and I would like to have a lunch with her. I will be the last man in England to know.”
His squad, however, is getting together to watch the game as a team.
Goal of the day
Lee Tomlin’s stunner for Bristol City. (r/soccer)
In the news
Expect Cristiano Ronaldo to be fit to play Manchester City this week. (ESPN FC)
The USMNT’s preliminary Copa América roster is out with no real surprises. (Stars and Stripes FC)
Jamie Vardy is the football writers’ player of the year. (Sky Sports)
Here’s Louis van Gaal talking about hair pulling and “sex masochism.”
Mario Balotelli called his boss to apologize after missing a penalty. (Football Italia)
You should be reading
Abbie Mood on MLS’s transition away from being a 4-4-2-centric league. (Unusual Efforts)
Jamie Hamilton on what makes “good” soccer. (These Football Times)
Mohamed Mohamed on Bournemouth and how they can improve next season. (Stats Bomb)
What happened this weekend
And all the NWSL highlights are here. (NWSL on YouTube)
Mats Hummels, who’s told Dortmund he wants to go to Bayern, got booed a lot. (Fear The Wall)
Leicester’s draw at Old Trafford was much better for them than it was for Manchester United. (The Busby Babe)
Barcelona won in La Liga, as did their rivals, so that title race hasn’t moved. (Barca Blaugranes)
What to watch on Monday (click for listings, all times ET)
Serie A: 2 games (from 1 p.m.) -- Napoli and Roma are battling for 2nd place.
Bundesliga: Werder Bremen vs. Stuttgart (2:15 p.m.) -- One of these two huge teams is probably going to finish in the bottom three.
EPL: Chelsea vs. Tottenham Hotspur (3 p.m.) -- If Spurs win, the title race goes on. If they don’t, Leicester are champions.
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