Ricky Hatton in the wrong business if he is looking for redemption

Pride and ego are dangerous impulses for a former champion mistaken in believing he can rule the boxing world again

Ricky Hatton has every right to fight again. Boxing is in his blood and in his bank account. He says he has an obligation to do so, an obligation to his fans. But no amount of money or spurious attachment to sentiment can disguise the dangers involved in his latest enterprise.

The former two-division world champion, who will be 34 in October, announced on Friday he will return to boxing after an absence of three years in Manchester on 24 November against an opponent yet to be named.

Clearly, there is still good money to be made in the Hatton industry – his second career, as manager and promoter, has been financially tough – and there is little question he needs a TV deal to bolster a promotional career that took a hit when Sky did not renew his deal earlier this year.

But he knows this fight will draw, no matter who the opponent. British boxing has never had a ticket-seller like the Hitman. Yet it is impossible to separate the business from the many other issues, his health being paramount.

"Too many miles on the clock," was Hatton's assessment after Manny Pacquiao knocked him unconscious inside two rounds in Las Vegas in May 2009. "Right thing to do," he said of his decision to quit, "rather than lead the fans up the garden path."

Hatton sees no discrepancy in insisting he now wants "British boxing to be proud of me again. The only way to convince everyone I'm back is by flattening someone. It's not about money, it's not about winning a world title".

In the next breath, he says: "I don't want to be fighting at four- or six-round levels – I want to fight for world titles." The confusion is obvious.

Hatton strikes a more credible note when he says: "It's more than a comeback. I'm fighting to redeem myself."

But all of these are the wrong reasons for a former champion to fight again. This plainly is about ego and pride, shrugging off the monkey that has been on his back, the monkey that drove him to the depths of despair over the past couple of years.

Comebacks happen because fighters spend even their good years telling themselves little lies. And the biggest lie is that they never grow old. If Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali could not defy time, why does Hatton imagine he can? The answer: there are not enough wise voices around him to tell him otherwise.

And this is what sets the alarm bells ringing, the confusion. If Hatton wants redemption over money, he is in the wrong business. He must know the only way he can restore his lustre is to do again what he did then. And then was a long time ago. It is not going to happen. There is not the time and there are too many good, young fighters out there, with sharper reflexes and colder eyes.

"People say nice things about me," he says, "but they don't know what's been going on between my ears."

People do say nice things about Ricky. Whatever his failings – perhaps because of them – they love the guy. He has always been someone hardcore boxing fans and the people of Manchester can identify with. It was that blind love that dragged up to 30,000 of them to Las Vegas to watch his finest nights – and his worst.

Barry McGuigan supports his return; so does Nathan Cleverly. They are two intelligent voices at either end of the boxing spectrum, the retired world champion and the young fighter with his career in front of him. But I can't agree with them.

Hatton has only recently got back into decent shape after a honeymoon of relaxation, during which he has come through the trauma of alcohol and drug use, considered suicide and, to his great credit, kept his promotional career on track despite significant pressures. If getting fit has done some good, it has restored his self-respect.

Standing outside the ropes, or even banging out a few rounds of sparring, was never going to "scratch the itch" as he put it. Hanging around fighters in the gym was always going to stir his old instincts. He is the sort of retired boxer who punctuates every conversation with little shadow-box shifts and twitches.

He misses the sport desperately, so he takes up the skipping rope. He hits the heavy bag. He cuts down on the booze. He gets on the treadmill. But he has no rating, just a wonderful past. Now he has to find the hunger to undertake the far more rigorous training needed to compete at the highest level.

It is said he wants to fight Paulie Malignaggi, the WBA welterweight champion whom he stopped in 11 rounds nearly four years ago. He looked good in that fight, which was the second after being laid out by Floyd Mayweather Jr — and the last before he got in the ring with Pacquiao.

Hatton may see the light-punching Malignaggi as a soft touch and that is revelatory in itself; he does not want to risk another night like the Pacquiao disaster. Nonetheless, the boxing landscape has shifted markedly since he fought Malignaggi, who has had eight fights in that time. He has a defence of his world title lined up against Pablo César Cano in New York next month and Hatton could be closer to 35 by the time he puts himself in contention for a title shot. So, who will need whom more, by then?

"We saw the best of Ricky when he beat Kostya Tszyu," his one-time promoter Frank Warren said. Unless anyone has forgotten, the date of that fight was June 2005. Hatton was 26.

RONALDO SAYS MESSI IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Nope, it’s not a sudden dose of modesty for Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo. Instead it’s his ever-expanding Brazilian namesake who has bestowed the honour upon Barcelona’s Lionel Messi.

In an interview with CNN World Sport, the two-time World Cup winner – who played for both Real and Barca – overlooked national rivalries to say he thought Messi was the better player.

Ronaldo said: “Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo without a doubt are the best players today. I give a preference to Messi, because he’s a player who fascinates us more, who shows more creativity. Even though he’s from Argentina, which has a big rivalry with Brazil! But he’s a player I admire a lot.

“In fact, both of them. But I think Messi is a little above Cristiano Ronaldo.”

In case you were wondering, he was handed a safe Brazilian option of Neymar but turned it down.

He said: “I think Neymar still has a phase to complete. To play in Europe and triumph playing in Europe.”

Bulldozers do battle in wheelchair basketball

Barney Ronay: With juddering collisions high levels of skill and a crazy crowd wheelchair basketball certainly packs a punch

Premier League summer transfer window 2012: club-by-club list of deals

Arsenal
IN Santi Cazorla (Real Mallorca, £16.5m), Olivier Giroud (Montpellier, £12m), Lukas Podolski (Cologne, £11.9m).

OUT Robin van Persie (Manchester Utd, £24m), Alex Song (Barcelona, £15m), Carlos Vela (Real Socieded, £4m), Kyle Bartley (Swansea, £1m), Henri Lansbury (Nottm Fst, £1m), Manuel Almunia (Watford, Free), Tom Cruise (Torquay, Free), Ben Glasgow (Stoke, Free), Gavin Hoyte (Dagenham & R, Free), Jeffrey Monakana (Preston, Free), Rhys Murphy (Telstar, Free), Oguzhan Ozyakup (Besiktas, Undisclosed), Pedro Botelho (Atlético Paranaense, Free), Sean McDermott (Sandnes, Free), Alban Bunjaku (Sevilla, Free), George Brislen-Hall (Norwich, Free), James Campbell (Dundee United, Free), Benif Afobe (Bolton, Loan), Daniel Boateng (Oxford United, Loan), Denilson (Sao Paulo, Loan), Joel Campbell (Real Betis, Loan), Ryo Miyaichi (Wigan, Loan), Park Chu-Young (Celta Vigo, Loan), Nicklas Bendtner (Juventus, Loan).

Aston Villa
IN Christian Benteke (Genk, £7m), Matthew Lowton (Sheffield United, £4m), Ron Vlaar (Feyenoord, £3m), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord, £2.5m), Joe Bennett (Middlesbrough£2.5m), Jordan Bowery (Chesterfield, £500,000), Brett Holman (AZ Alkmaar, Free), Ashley Westwood (Crewe, Undisclosed).

OUT James Collins (West Ham, £2.5m), Carlos Cuellar (Sunderland, Free), Connor Taylor (Walsall, Free), Reece Caira (Western Sydney, Free), Nathan Delfouneso (Blackpool, Loan).


Chelsea
IN Eden Hazard (Lille, £32m), Oscar (Internacional, £25m), Marko Marin (W Bremen, £7m), Victor Moses (Wigan, £9m), Cezar Azpilicueta (Marseille, £7m), George Brady (Cannes, £250,000), Thorgan Hazard (Lens, Undisclosed).
OUT Didier Drogba (Shanghai Shenhua, Free), Salomon Kalou (Lille, Free), Jacob Mellis (Barnsley, Free), Marko Mitrovic (Brescia, Free), Jose Bosingwa (QPR, Free), Thibaut Courtois (Atlético Madrid, Loan), Rohan Ince (Yeovil, Loan), Jeffrey Bruma (Hamburg, Loan), Patrick van Aanholt (V Arnhem, Loan), Tomas Kalas (V Arnhem, Loan), Ulises Davila (Sabadell, Loan), Jhon Pi­rez (Sabadel, Loan), Milan Lalkovic (V Guimaraes, Loan), Matej Delac (V Guimaraes, Loan), Kenneth Omeruo (ADO DH), Kevin De Bruyne (W Bremen, Loan), Ben Gordon (Birmingham, Loan), Romelu Lukaku (WBA, Loan), Sam Walker (Bristol R, Loan), Archange Nkumu (Yeovil Town, Loan), Josh McEachran (Middlesbrough, Loan), Conor Clifford (Portsmouth, Loan), Sam Hutchinson (Nottm Fst, Loan) Thorgan Hazard (Zulte W, Loan), Nathaniel Chalobah (Watford, Loan), Gael Kakuta (V Arnhem, Loan), Michael Essien (R Madrid, Loan), Yossi Benayoun (West Ham, Loan).

Everton
IN Kevin Mirallas (Olympiakos, £5.2m), Stephen Pienaar (Tottenham, £4.5m), Bryan Oviedo (FC Copenhagen, £5m), Steven Naismith (Rangers, tribunal), Matthew Kennedy (Kilmarnock, Undisclosed).
OUT Jack Rodwell (Man City, £12m), Joseph Yobo (Fenerbache, £2m), Tim Cahill (NY Red Bulls, £1m), Joao Silva (Levski Sofia, Undisc), James Wallace (Tranmere, Undisc), Jack Bidwell (Brentford, Loan), Adam Forshaw (Brentford, Free), Aristote Nsiala (Accrington Stanley, Free), Jack Bidwell (Brentford, Loan).

Fulham
IN Dimitar Berbatov (Man Utd, £5m), Kieran Richardson (Sunderland, £2m), George Williams (MK Dons, Undisc), Mladen Petric (Hamburg, Free), Hugo Rodallega (Wigan, Free), Sascha Riether (Cologne, Loan).
OUT Moussa Dembélé (Tottenham, £15m), Clint Dempsey (Tottenham, £6m), Dickson Etuhu (Blackburn, £1.5m), Marcel Gecov (AA Gent, Undisclosed), Danny Murphy (Blackburn, Free), Andy Johnson (QPR, Free), Bjorn Helge Riise (Lillestrom SK, Free), Orlando Sa (AEL Limassol, Free), Marcus Bettinelli (Dartford, Loan).

Liverpool
IN Joe Allen (Swansea, £15m), Fabio Borini (Roma, £10m), Oussama Assaidi (Heerenveen, £3m), Damed Yesil (Bayer Leverkusen, £1m), Nuri Sahin (R Madrid, Loan).
OUT Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina, £6m), Charlie Adam (Stoke, £5m), Dirk Kuyt (Fenerbahce, £1m), Maxi Rodriguez (Newell’s OBs, Undisc), David Amoo (Preston, Free), Fabio Aurelio (Gremio, Free), Craig Bellamy (Cardiff, Free), Stephen Darby (Bradford, Free), Lewis Hatch (Accrington St, Free), Joe Rafferty (Rochdale, Free), Toni Silva (Barnsley, Free), Connor Wearing (Shrewsbury, Free), Andy Carroll (West Ham, Loan), Jay Spearing (Bolton, Loan), Nathan Eccleston (Blackpool, Undisclosed).

Manchester City
IN Jack Rodwell (Everton, £12m), Scott Sinclair (Swansea, £6.2m), Maicon (Inter Milan, £3m), Vlad Marin (Lazio, Undisc), Jules Olivier Ntcham (Le Havre, Undisc), Richard Wright (Ipswich, Free), Matija Nastasic (Fiorentina, Undisc).
OUT Adam Johnson (Sunderland, £10m), Emmanuel Adebayor (Tottenham, £5m), Nigel de Jong (AC Milan, £3.6m), Vladimir Weiss (Pescara, £1.32m), Greg Cunninhgam (Bristol C, Undisclosed), Gai Assulin (Racing Santander, Free), Ahmed Benali (Brescia, Free), Andrea Mancini (Real Valladolid, Free), Stuart Taylor (Reading, Free), Roque Santa Cruz (Malaga, Undisclosed), Wayne Bridge (Brighton, Loan), Omar Elabdellaoui (Feyenoord, Loan), Harry Bunn (Crewe, Loan), Stefan Savic (Fiorentina, Undisclosed). Released: Owen Hargreaves, Stuart Taylor.

Manchester Utd
IN Robin van Persie (Arsenal, £24m), Shinji Kagawa (Borussia Dortmund, £12m rising to17m), Nick Powell (Crewe, £2.75m rising to £4m), Alexander Buttner (Vitesse Arnhem, £3.9m), Angelo Henriquez (Universidad de Chile, £3m).
OUT Dimitar Berbatov (Fulham, £5m),
Ji-Sung Park (QPR, £2.5m), Ritchie de Laet, Matthew James (Leicester, £2m combined), Febian Brandy (Walsall, Free), Liam Jacob (Oldham, Free), Paul Pogba (Juventus, Free), Tomas Kuszczak (Brighton, Free), Oliver Norwood (Huddersfield, Free), Ben Amos (Hull City, Loan), Reece Brown (Coventry, Loan), John Cofie (Sheffield United, Loan), Fabio Da Silva (QPR, Loan), Sean McGinty (Oxford U, Loan).

Newcastle United
IN Vurnon Anita (Ajax, £6.7m), Gael Bigirimana (Coventry, £1m), Curtis Good (Melbourne Heart, £400,000), Romain Amalfitano (Reims, Free).
OUT Leon Best (Blackburn, £3m), Fraser Forster (Celtic, £2m), Daniel Taylor (Oldham, Free), Danny Guthrie (Reading, Free), Michael Hoganson (Derby County, Free), Peter Lovenkrands (Birmingham, Free), Tamas Kadar (Roda, Free), Alan Smith (MK Dons, Free), Phil Airey (Blyth S, Free), Lee Toland (Glenavon, Free), Louis Storey (Accrington, Free), Billy Ions (Leeds, Free), Jeff Henderson (Sligo, Free), Paul Dummett (St Mirren, Loan).

Norwich City
IN Sébastien Bassong (Tottenham, £5.5m), Robert Snodgrass (Leeds, £3m), Alexander Tetty (Rennes, £1.5m), Michael Turner (Sunderland, £1.5m), Mark Bunn (Blackburn, £1m), Jacob Butterfield (Barnsley, Tribunal), Steven Whittaker (Rangers, Free).
OUT Andrew Crofts (Brighton, Undisclosed), Josh Dawkin (Braintree, Free), Adam Drury (Leeds, Free), Zak Whitbread (Leicester, Free), Aaron Wilbraham (C Palace, Free), Daniel Ayala (Nottm Fst, Loan), James Vaughan (Huddersfield, Loan), Tom Adeyemi (Brentford, Loan), George Francomb (AFC Wimbledon, Loan).

QPR
IN Esteban Granero (Real Madrid, £9m), Samba Diakite (Nancy, £4m), Ji-Sung Park (Manchester Utd, £2.5m) Junior Hoilett (Blackburn, Tribunal), Julio Cesar (Inter Milan, Undisc), Robert Green (West Ham, Free), Ryan Nelsen (Tottenham, Free), Jose Bosingwa (Chelsea, Free), Andy Johnson (Fulham, Free), Sam Magri (Portsm’th, Free), Fabio Da Silva (Man Utd, Loan), Stephane Mbia (Marseille, Undisc).
OUT Paddy Kenny (Leeds, £500,000), Tommy Smith (Cardiff, £300,000), Heidar Helguson (Cardiff, Undisc), Lee Cook (L Orient, Free), Fitz Hall (Watford, Free), Peter Ramage (C Palace, Free), Rowan Vine (St Johnstone, Free), Patrick Agyemang (Stevenage, Free), Jay Bothroyd (Sheffield Weds, Loan), Joey Barton (Marseille, Loan).

Reading
IN Adrian Mariappa (Watford, £3m), Chris Gunter (Nottm Fst, £2m to £2.3m), Pierce Sweeney (Bray Wanderers, Undisclosed), Danny Guthrie (Newcastle, Free), Garath McCleary (Nottm Fst, Free), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart, Free), Nicky Shorey (WBA, Free), Stuart Taylor (Manchester City, Free).
OUT Michail Antonio (Sheff Wed, Undisclosed), Tomasz Cywka (Barnsley, Free), Michael Hector (Shrewsbury, Loan), Angus MacDonald (AFC Wimbledon, Loan), Joseph Millls(Burnley, Loan), Karl Sheppard (Accrington, Loan), Mikkel Anderson (Portsmouth, Loan).

Southampton
IN Jay Rodriguez (Burnley, £7m), Emmanuel Mayuka (Young Boys Berne, £3.5m), Alexander Buttner (V Arnhem, £3m), Nathaniel Clyne (Crystal Palace, £2.5m), Gaston Ramirez (Bologna, Undisc), Paulo Gazzaniga (Gillingham, £2m), Maya, Yoshida (VVV-Venlo, £2m), Steven Davis (Rangers, £800,000).
OUT Dan Harding (Nottm Fst, Undisc), Harlee Dean (Brentford, Free), Ryan Doble (Shrewsbury, Free), Lee Holmes (Preston, Free), Bartosz Bialkowski (Notts Co, Free), Tommy Forecast (Gillingham, Loan), Aaron Martin (C Palace, Loan), Lee Barnard (Bournemouth, Loan), Jonathan Forte (Crawley, Loan), Billy Sharp (Nottm Fst, Loan). Retired: Radhi Jaidi.

Stoke City
IN Charlie Adam (Liverpoool, £5m), Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo, Undisclosed), Maurice Edu (Rangers, Undisclosed), Ben Glasgow (Arsenal, Free), Jamie Ness (Rangers, Free), Goran Popov (D Kiev, Loan).
OUT Danny Collins (Nottm Fst, £500,000), Andrew Davies (Bradford City, Free), Jonathan Woodgate (Middlesbrough, Free), Ricardo Fuller (Charlton, Free), Louis Moult (Northampton, Free), Ryan Brunt (L Orient, Loan), Florent Cuvelier (Walsall, Loan), Matthew Lund (Bristol R, Loan).

Sunderland
IN Steven Fletcher (Wolves, £15m), Adam Johnson (Manchester City, £10m), Carlos Cuellar (Aston Villa, Free), Louis Saha (Tottenham, Free), Danny Rose (Tottenham, Loan).
OUT Asomoah Gyan (Al-Ain, £6m), Kieran Richardson (Fulham, £2m), Michael Turner (Norwich, £1.5m), Marcos Angeleri (Estudiantes, Undisc), Trevor Carson (Bury, Free), Jordan Cook (Charlton, Free), George McCartney (West Ham, Free), Ahmed Elmohamady (Hull, Loan).

Swansea City
IN Pablo Hernandez (Valencia, £5.55m), Ki Sung-Yeung (Celtic, £5m), Jose Manuel Flores (Genoa, £2m), Michu (Real Vallecano, £2m), Kyle Bartley (Arsenal, £1m), Jonathan de Guzman (Villarreal, Loan), Joe Walsh (Crawley, Free), Jamie Proctor (Preston, Undisc).
OUT Scott Sinclair (Manchester City, £6.2m), Federico Bessone (Swindon, Free), Andrea Orlandi (Brighton, Free), Stephen Dobbie (Brighton, Undisc).

Tottenham
IN Moussa Dembele (Fulham, £15m), Jan Vertonghen (Ajax, £9.5m), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Hoffenheim, £8m), Hugo Lloris (Lyon, £7.9m), Clint Dempsey (Fulham, £6m), Emmanuel Adebayor (Man City, £5m).
OUT Luka Modric (Real Madrid, £30m), Rafael van der Vaart (Hamburg, £10m), Niko Kranjcar (Dynamo Kiev, £5.75m), Sébastien Bassong (Norwich, £5.5m), Vedran Corluka (Lokomotiv M, £5m), Stephen Pienaar (Everton, £4.5m), David Button (Charlton, £500,000), Lee Angol (Wycombe, Undisc), Giovani dos Santos (Real Mallorca, Undisc), Ben Alnwick (Barnsley, Free), Ryan Nelsen (QPR, Free), Louis Saha (Sunderland, Free), Bongani Khumalo (PAOK Salonika, Loan), Massimo Luongo (Ipswich, Loan), John Bostock (Swindon, Loan), Danny Rose (Sunderland, Loan). Retired: Ledley King.
West Brom
IN Ben Foster (Birmingham, £4m), Markus Rosenberg (W Bremen, Free), Claudio Jacob (Racing Club, Free), Yassine El Ghanassy (AA Gent, Loan), Goran Popov (Dinamo Kiev, Loan).
OUT (All free) Keith Andrews (Bolton), Paul Downing (Walsall), Marton Fulop (Astera Tripolis), Joey Mattock (Sheff Wed), Nicky Shorey (Reading).

West Ham Utd
IN Matt Jarvis (Wolves, £10.75m), Modibo Maiga (Sochaux, £4.7m), James Collins (Villa, £2.5m), Stephen Henderson (Pompey, Undisc), Mohamed Diamé (Wigan, Free), Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton, Free), George McCartney (Sund’land, Free), Andy Carroll (Liverpool, Loan), Yossi Benayoun (Chelsea, Loan).
OUT Sam Baldock (Bristol C, £1m), Cristian Montano (Oldham, £60,000), Sam Cowler (Barnet, Undisc), Jordan Brown (Barnet, Free), Julien Faubert (Elazigspor, Free), Abdoulaye Faye (Hull, Free), Robert Green (QPR, Free), Oliver Lee (Barnet, Free), Frank Nouble (Wolves, Free), Freddie Sears (Colchester, Free), Ravel Morrison (Birmingham, Loan), Nicky Maynard (Cardiff, Undisc).

Wigan Athletic
IN Ivan Ramis (Real Mallorca, £4.5m), Conor Sammon (Derby, £1.2m), Frazer Fyfie (Aberdeen, £450,000.
OUT Victor Moses (Chelsea, £9m), Mohamed Diamé (West Ham, Free), Chris Kirkland (Sheff Wed, Free), Hugo Rodallega (Fulham, Free), Lee Nicholls (Northampton, Loan), Nouha Dicko (Blackpool, Loan), Roman Golobart (Tranmere, Loan).

Chelsea 1 Atletico Madrid 4: match report

Read a full match report of the Uefa Super Cup game between Chelsea and Atletico Madrid at the Stade Louis II in Monaco on Friday Aug 31 2012.
Roman Abramovich had a more successful defence than his team did. On the day that Chelsea’s owner resisted attempts to take £3 billion off him in court, he watched his side slump to deserved defeat in the Super Cup final as Falcao ripped them apart. Falcao was magnificent, giving a master-class of centre-forward play.

The Colombian hit a first-half hat-trick and Miranda added a fourth in the second as the winners of the Europa League outclassed the winners of the Champions League. Even though Gary Cahill pulled one back, it was a brutally dispiriting evening for Chelsea and Fernando Torres in particular against his old club.

Chelsea defender Ashley Cole tweeted afterwards: “Well that was a lesson, absolute joke no fight, desire, passion, and a big reality check!!!!!! sorrycfcfans.”

Torres’ name had drawn huge cheers from the Atletico faithful when the teams were announced but they were swiftly singing in praise of their current No 9. From the first whistle, Falcao was all movement, all menace.

Always on his toes, always looking to race in behind Chelsea’s defensive line, the Colombian scored his second successive hat-trick in the space of four days. After putting three past Athletic Bilbao, Falcao dismantled Chelsea’s defence clinically.

John Terry, suspended from another Uefa showpiece event, had only just taken up his seat in the stands when Falcao first came calling, hitting the bar as Chelsea’s defence opened up embarrassingly.

He was merely adjusting his sights. After six minutes, Falcao sped down the inside-left channel before cleverly dinking the ball over Petr Cech and in off the post. And so it began. Chelsea hinted at a riposte, Eden Hazard shooting wide, before the Falcao Show resumed.

This time, the 26 year-old worked his magic on the right, teasing some space around Ashley Cole before sending the ball curling with his left foot past Cech. Named after the legendary Brazilian, Falcao was adding further lustre to his celebrated name. Chelsea were being outplayed and outmuscled with Falcao showing his willingness to become involved in the physical fray.

The European champions were so poor, managing only a few attempts on goal. Hazard dummied his way past Mario Suarez and then slipped the ball down the inside-left channel to Torres. Miranda stepped across calmly to clear. Miranda Hart could have played in Atletico’s defence such was the Europa League winners’ total control.

For the small knot of Chelsea fans this must have been excruciating and alarming to behold. Barring Terry, Chelsea were arguably at full-strength. Torres led the line, Ramires, Hazard and Juan Mata sought to support him while Frank Lampard and John Obi Mikel attempted to shield the back-four. Unsuccessfully.

Branislav Ivanovic looked vulnerable to pacey insurgents while Gary Cahill and David Luiz suffered the jitters whenever Falcao came into view. Cole, usually so certain, was below his high standards in the first half in which Chelsea’s defenders resembled blue shirts on a washing line in a tempest. Everyone was flapping.

Falcao charged around, sensing vulnerability. He almost completed his hat-trick after 35 minutes. He accelerated one move, controlling the ball under pressure and then releasing the excellent Arda Turan. Adrian Lopez failed to turn in the cross. Falcao, lurking close by, threw himself at the loose ball, sending it against the post.

His third arrived just before the break, following a lightning break by Atletico form the wreckage of a Chelsea corner. Arda cleverly chose the ideal moment to release the ball across to Falcao. Again the control was instant. Again the finish was unstoppable.

At the break, after Atletico had departed to a standing ovation, the stadium announcer somehow managed to stop himself laughing when mentioning that Patrick Kluivert had been given the assignment of establishing who the man of the match was.

There was more. Miranda made it four, chipping the ball over Cech and in past a despairing Cahill. Chelsea gave their fans something to sing about, Cahill slamming in a loose ball, which prompted chants of “we’re going to win 5-4”.

Yet it was Atletico who came closest to scoring again. Felipe Luis raced 50 yards, being chased by Daniel Sturridge, who had been linked with a move to Liverpool. Atletico’s left-back just managed to find enough space to shoot but was denied by Cech.

The game finished as it began with Atletico’s marvelous fans singing Torres’ name for almost a minute. To nobody’s surprise, Falcao was then announced as man of the match.

Real Madrid agree loan deal for Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien

Chelsea on Friday night agreed loan terms to send Michael Essien to Real Madrid.
The high-earning midfielder, who is believed to pick up at least £4 million a year at Chelsea, will rejoin his former manager Jose Mourinho at the Bernabéu.

Chelsea were also poised to send Yossi Benayoun across London to West Ham United in an effort to slim their squad after summer investments.

Young winger Gaël Kakuta has gone on a season-long loan to Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem, where he joins Blues team-mates Tomas Kalas and Patrick van Aanholt.

Eden Hazard’s younger brother Thorgan – whom they also signed this summer – has joined Belgian club Zulte Waregem on a season-long loan.

Chelsea's Super Cup humbling against Atletico Madrid was no Uefa collectors’ item

The 102 pages of the latest Uefa Champions League regulations cover every detail from having bolt-cutters amongst the pitch-side medical equipment to the €200 entry fee per team and the 180 car-park spaces each club must give Uefa per game.
And then there is the curious matter of Article 4.01 (l) which orders clubs to co-operate with Uefa at the end of matches “in the collection of … players’ personal items that could be used by Uefa to create a memorabilia collection to illustrate the heritage of the competition”.

Football being football, where the creed is greed, Uefa reassures clubs that its acquiring of stars’ Alice-bands, hair-gel and dropped jelly babies would be “to the exclusion of any commercial use”.

In properly illustrating the heritage of Europe’s elite club competition, the focus will always be on the special memories players bequeath on the pitch than any belongings they leave in the dressing-room.

Chelsea returned from Monaco on Saturday morning, knowing they had underperformed badly in the Uefa Super Cup against Falcao’s Atletico Madrid and will have to raise their standards if they are

to retain their Champions League title, starting on Sept 19 when Andrea Pirlo and the champions of Italy, Juventus, visit Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea added to the rich heritage of the European Cup with their remarkable resilience of spirit last season but they know they need more silk this season. It can’t all be rearguard actions. Hence the arrival of Eden Hazard, the skilful Belgian, whose upbeat personality made him find a positive from Friday’s chastening 4-1 defeat.

“Perhaps it will make us work even harder when we all return to training,” Hazard reflected after the game. “Perhaps we will all come back stronger. We just need to forget about it and move on.

“From a personal standpoint, it certainly won’t get me down. I’ve been well received by everyone at Chelsea. It’s no surprise for me really that I’ve settled in so well because when you play with better players, it’s easier to adapt. I’m a pretty natural [positive] guy and I’m already looking ahead to the next adventure.”

Hazard’s most immediate adventure is with Belgium, facing Wales and Croatia, as a talented collection of individuals, also including Vincent Kompany, Marouane Fellaini and Moussa Dembélé, seek to meet the public’s rising expectation.

“For the country and fans, the next two games are really important,” said Hazard. “With the squad we have now, we should be able to do something. In a way it’s now or never for Belgium. We have a great generation but we have to do it on the pitch.

“Perhaps I have not been as effective for Belgium as for Lille or Chelsea. Maybe expectations are too high. Maybe people expect me to score three goals per game.’’

Now that would be something for Uefa’s memorabilia collection.