It was still less than a week ago that an unusually emotional Champions League final featured a player from each side depart in tears before half-time and the losing goalkeeper, whose individual errors swung the game, report the following afternoon that he “hadn’t really slept” as “the scenes are running through my head again and again”.
Also last Saturday, Tom Cairney scored the only goal as he captained Fulham to victory in the Championship play-off final and declared his side’s promotion was “a dream come true. It feels incredible. It feels like an out-of-body feeling”. Meanwhile Steve Bruce, the manager of defeated Aston Villa, described “a feeling of utter disappointment for everybody”. “It was heartbreaking,” said their midfielder Josh Onomah, who had spent the season on loan from Tottenham. “I’ve got to get my head around the result. It was just so disappointing we lost.” John Terry cried on to the shoulder of Jack Grealish, said he was “absolutely devastated” and left the club within days.
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