Falcao earns Gabi plaudits

Atletico Madrid captain Gabi has hailed prolific team-mate Radamel Falcao ahead of his side’s European Super Cup match against Chelsea.

Colombia striker Falcao played a key role in both Porto’s and his current club’s Europa League victories, and Gabi had nothing but praise for him ahead of Friday’s match in Monaco.

“Chelsea might well be a bigger name than us, but Atletico Madrid have earned respect all over Europe, especially in the last couple of years,” Gabi said.

“On top of that, we have got the best finisher in the world, Falcao, who is lethal in the box.

“He has already shown that he is more than capable of handling these types of games by playing so well in the last two (Europa League) finals, when he practically won them single-handed.

“We will do our best to help him do that again. It is going to be a tough match between two teams who are among the best in Europe at the moment.”