El segundo penalti a Vinicius no aparece en el 'Tiempo de Revisión' — and more

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Welcome to the latest installment of The Orchid Tales, where your hoddler-in-chief documents the life and times of his orchid. Has it really been 12 months since our most recent edition? That’s way too long! Let’s check in to see how things are shaping up.

For those of you new to this site – this is also one of the longest-running features of the hoddle under your HIC. The first edition of The Orchid Tales premiered on August 19, 2022. That’s almost four years ago!

Catch up on parts 1-11 here:Part I, Part II / Part III / Part IV / Part V / Part VI / Part VII / Part VIII / Part IX / Part X / Part XI

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One of the most challenging parts about moving, for me, is understanding how to put my orchid in the best possible position to thrive. A huge part of that means how and where it is going to receive sunlight. That sort of calculus makes it probably a little too challenging for me in how I’m going to set up my entire living arrangements.

At least I’ve figured it now for now, and I’ll be monitoring Planty’s health in the coming weeks.

There aren’t any signs that the orchid is going to grow new buds this season, which is okay. The leaves remain a very healthy green, and the roots are wild and respond well when being watered.

It looks like I’ll be tending the plant for the next few months until it’s time to repot, and then maybe I’ll bring it in to a florist to help me understand how to best plot an orchid that is growing increasingly more horizontal by the month.

It’s also time to bring new plants into the fold. I’ve had a ponytail palm sitting on a shelf for the last 2.5 years, which still looks very healthy. I also plan on bringing in some floor plants into the equation – probably the likes of a snake plant, a fiddle leaf fig or a dracaena.

I’ve got some more space on the bookshelves to add a few smaller plants too.

Is it too many plants? Probably not. You can’t have enough plants. I think they add a tonne of life and colour into the mix.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Waits For Me, by Anjimile

And now for your links:

The Standard: “Igor Tudor will have Tottenham squad ‘running through brick walls’, says former player”

Alasdair Gold: “Everything you need to know about Igor Tudor’s new-look coaching staff at Tottenham”

Matt Law: “Tottenham face ‘catastrophic’ cost of relegation and no European football”

The Independent: “Troy Parrott on becoming Republic of Ireland’s hero, Mourinho’s impact and searching for ‘big moments’”

BBC: “League One Mansfield to host Arsenal in fifth round – full FA Cup draw”

Real Madrid visit Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League’s Round of 32. Mbappé is expected to return to the lineup and the biggest question mark for Arbeloa will surely be who to deploy in the center of the defensive line now that Rudiger is also back.

Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois; Trent, Rüdiger, Huijsen, Carreras; Tchouaméni, Valverde, Camavinga; Güler; Vinicius, Mbappé.

Benfica predicted XI: Trubin; Dedic, Otamendi, T. Araújo, Dahl; Aursnes, Barreiro; Prestianni, Sudakov, Schjelderup; Pavlidis.

Given that Asencio has been playing through pain for a while, Rudiger and Huijsen might start.

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Date: 02/17/2025

Time: 21:00 CET, 03:00pm EST.

Venue: Estadio Da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal.

Available TV: Movistar Liga Campeones (Spain)

Available Streaming: Paramount+, DAZN, Amazon Prime Video (USA)

Managing Madrid has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links.

The tournament was originally set to begin on February 17 but the Congolese Football Federation (FECOFA) decided to delay the start by one day. In an official statement, UNIFFAC confirmed the change was made "for organizational reasons to ensure the tournament runs as smoothly as possible."

National teams participating in the competition must now rearrange their schedules in preparation for the new start date on Wednesday, February 18.