The ball was in play for a total of 28:53 with 18:39 of stoppages during the first half of the Champions League final, with only 6’ of added time. It is not up to PSG or Arsenal to make the game watchable, but that is how you kill the sport of football.

The fourth official held up the board and it said six minutes additional time in the first half.

I bet you can guess who is responsible for each stoppage based on the amount of time that was wasted. It should only take 15 seconds maximum to get the ball back in play, not 25, 35, 45 seconds.

I don’t like time wasting from the start of a match when you know you can win. It’s harder to switch and exit from time wasting to accelerate emotionally into a positive rhythm because the opposition are already operating in that mindset.

Football is about rhythm.

When the game is stop-start, you play to that rhythm.

When you are the team time wasting, you are a negative force. A frustration. There’s nothing positive about wasting time.

The other team are annoyed. They’re positive. They know they can win. They don’t have to eat the clock; they want the game to be longer.

Now say you want to stop time wasting. It’s like trying to run on a moving treadmill.

You have to match that sped-up rhythm of the opposition.

The opponent has been ready all game to play football. They’re there.

Why would you want to start a game at a disadvantage when you know you have the ability to win? I don’t fault teams who know they shouldn’t be able to win. I fault teams who have the quality to win.

It nearly worked, but it rarely works out in favor of the team who time waste from the start.